North Korea threatens Seoul and Washington with nuclear attack

Pyongyang promises to launch an "indiscriminate" nuclear attack against the US and South Korea after the two countries begin military exercises. North Korean government classifies annual maneuvers of "provocation."

Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un

North Korea threatened to run "preemptive strikes" against South Korea and the United States in response to annual joint military maneuvers that both countries began on Monday (07/03).

"The People's Army [North Korea] will perform preventive military acts of neutralization, which may include deadly and merciless blows at the enemy," said the National Defense Committee of the country in a statement released by state news agency KCNA news.

"The indiscriminate nuclear attack [...] clearly show to those who crave for aggression and war military force in North Korea," the document says. "If we press the buttons to annihilate the enemies now, all the provocations of bases will be reduced to a sea of ​​flames and ashes in an instant."

The Minister of Defense of South Korea, Moon Sang-gyun, in turn, warned that if the North launch "provocations" in response to the start of military exercises, Seoul will respond "without mercy." "North Korea must stop their insolence, your comments and self-destructive actions right now," the South Korean leader told a news conference.

Pyongyang and Seoul spoke after the start of joint military exercises that the US and South Korea held annually. The exercises in this year take place at a time of tension on the Korean Peninsula following the recent nuclear test conducted by North Korea in February, followed by new UN sanctions in retaliation to the isolated country.

The annual exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, which extend until April 30, will be the largest scale ever performed so far by the two allies. The maneuvers this year intended to be a show of force and bring together more than 300 thousand soldiers South Korean and 15,000 American soldiers.

North Korea denounces that these exercises are a test nuclear war and invasion against the country, while Seoul and Washington emphasize the defensive character of the maneuvers.