A senior North Korean official says his country will wage nuclear war on the United States if the autonomy of his country is threatened, the Korea Times reported.
"If the U.S. ever threatens our autonomy or existence, our military will launch nuclear warheads toward the headquarters of evil: the White House, the Pentagon, military bases in the Pacific Ocean and major U.S. cities," said Hwang Byung-suh, director of the military's General Political Bureau, during an address to a large military rally in Pyongyang on Sunday.
He added that recent joint military drills between the US and South Korea have increased tensions in the Korean peninsula. Washington and Seoul launched joint five-day war games in South Korean waters on July 16 which involved the USS George Washington carrier strike group. The 88,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was loaded with about 70 aircraft.
Also, Lt. Gen. Kim Sang-ryong said, "We are fully prepared to give a taste of real war to South Korea and the imperialist US forces that dream of domination and assimilation. We are just waiting for the orders.”
Meanwhile, Strategic Commander Kim Rak-kyum said, if North Korea is threatened, the army will "fire warheads at not only the stronghold of imperialism itself, but also at US military bases around the world."
South Korea claims that the navy drills are humanitarian in nature, while North Korea dubs them as a prelude to invasion. The two countries remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace deal.
