North Korea on Saturday denounced this week's annual security talks between South Korea and the United States as an "intentional" expression of the allies' "hostile" nature against it, vowing to take "more offensive" actions against enemy threats.
North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol said in a statement that the North has "correctly" understood US hostility toward Pyongyang as the defense chiefs of South Korea and the US held the Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss key alliance and defense issues.
No also denounced Washington's latest joint air drills with Seoul and the recent visit to South Korea by the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, saying the U.S. has been "intentionally" escalating political and military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
"We have correctly understood the hostility of the US to stand in confrontation with the DPRK to the last and will never avoid the response to it," No said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
No warned that "all threats encroaching upon the sphere of the North's security" will become "direct targets" and be "managed in a necessary way."
"We will show more offensive action against the enemies' threat on the principle of ensuring security and defending peace by dint of powerful strength," he said.
No's statement came a day after North Korea fired one suspected short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea. The North's state media did not report on its latest missile launch.
The launch came after it warned of "proper" measures against Washington's imposition of fresh sanctions on Pyongyang.
North Korea has remained unresponsive to offers for dialogue by Seoul and Washington while resuming missile launches in recent weeks. Last week, the North fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. (Yonhap)
