Ahead of the annual Seoul-Washington joint
\nmilitary drills scheduled for early next month, Pyongyang has been bolstering
\nits threats, likely in a move to pressure the South and the U.S. as well as
\nbuild up justification for any future provocations. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an act of provocation calling for Last week, the young leader watched over South Korea<\/span>\u2019s military North Korea last year test-fired a number \u201cNorth Korea has been stepping up its He added that the North is likely to keep Some believe the continual threats come Moreover, on the 10th of this month, Ahead of the annual Seoul-Washington joint military drills scheduled for early next month, Pyongyang has been bolstering its threats, likely in a move to pressure the South and the U.S. as well as build up justification for any future provocations. \u201cIt is an act of provocation calling for wrath upon itself,\u201d North Korea\u2019s Party-run publication […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":30012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-analysis-and-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nwrath upon itself,<\/span>\u201d North Korea<\/span>\u2019s Party-run publication Rodong Sinmun wrote on Monday regarding the
\njoint military drills, threatening to <\/span>\u201ccompletely bury
\nthem.<\/span>\u201d Leader Kim Jong Eun, in an enlarged
\nmeeting of the Workers<\/span>\u2019 Party Central Military
\nCommission declared, <\/span>\u201cIn the future, we will surely
\nwage war against the American Imperialists,<\/span>\u201d calling
\nfor full readiness for mobilization to ensure rapid response to <\/span>\u201cany and all types of combat.<\/span>\u201d <\/p>\n
\ndrills to attack and land on the west coast with mobilized silkworm missiles,
\naccording to a Rodong Sinmun report on Saturday. <\/span>\u201cTurn
\nthe enemy<\/span>\u2019s stronghold into a sea of fire,<\/span>\u201d he ordered, stepping up Pyongyang<\/span>\u2019s
\nthreats.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nrespond to these threats by reiterating that the Key Resolve drills are annual
\nevents and solely defensive measures against the North Korea. It also warned
\nthat if North Korea uses these drills as an excuse to threaten or provoke the
\nSouth, it will not hesitate to respond with full force. <\/span> <\/p>\n
\nof short-range missiles ahead of the same Key Resolve drills, driving up
\ntensions on the Korean Peninsula. Based on this incident, analysts believe
\nPyongyang will likely carry out some form of provocation against the South
\nagain this year.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nthreats in time for the joint military drills. It likely is trying to
\nconsolidate domestic forces and pressure Seoul and Washington to incapacitate
\nthe drills,<\/span>\u201d a North Korea expert told Daily NK on
\ncondition of anonymity. <\/span> <\/p>\n
\nintensifying its threats until the Key Resolve drills begin and then wait to
\nsee how the South and the U.S. react. <\/span>\u201cIn the end, this
\nmove of ratcheting up tensions is to create more justification to carry out a
\nmid or high-level provocation,<\/span>\u201d he explained.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nwith politically loaded messages, designed to create the groundwork to boast
\nthe country<\/span>\u2019s strengthened military capabilities both
\ndomestically and abroad, keeping in line with the prescriptions stipulated by
\nKim Jong Eun in his New Year<\/span>\u2019s Address.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nPyongyang held a meeting under the Political Bureau of the Chosun Workers<\/span>\u2019 Party Central Committee and agreed to develop lighter, unmanned,
\ncutting-edge military equipment more suited for modern warfare, in light of the
\n70th anniversary of the Party and liberation from Japan<\/span>\u2019s colonial rule, followed by calling for restructuring within the
\nCentral Military Commission–additional moves aimed at enhancing military power as announced in the New Year’s Address.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"