North Korea back to threats

NORTH KOREA followed recent conciliatory gestures toward the US and South Korea with a return to threats yesterday, warning them of “merciless retaliation” over sanctions imposed on its government, and nuclear attacks in response to any atomic provocation.

Seoul and Washington will kick off annual computer-simulated war games today, which North Korea sees as preparation for an invasion.

The US and South Korea say the manoeuvres are purely defensive.

“Should the US imperialists and (South Korean government) threaten the (North) with nukes, it will retaliate against them with nukes,” North Korea’s military said in a statement reported yesterday by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.

The US is moving to enforce UN, as well as its own, sanctions against North Korea to punish it for its second nuclear test in May and a series of missile launches.