Kim Jong-un warns against S. Korea-U.S. military drill

Published : Aug 26, 2012 - 14:10 Updated : Aug 27, 2012 - 15:10

Kim says, "There is a limit to our patience," adding he has "finally signed" an order of "battle to an all-out counter-offensive."

North Korea's leader once again warned of "the all-out battle" against the South, denouncing an ongoing joint military drill between South Korea and the United States, the North's state media said Sunday.

South Korean and U.S. forces began a 12-day annual joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, on Aug. 20 to test and improve their defense posture against North Korea, mobilizing some 56,000 South Korean troops and about 30,000 U.S. soldiers, according to military officials.

Kim Jong-un (Yonhap News)

   Seoul and Washington "are staging large-scale war drills for aggressions targeted against us," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted by the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as saying during his speech at an Aug. 25 anniversary to celebrate what the communist country claims as former leader Kim Jong-il's start of "the military-first revolutionary leadership."

   "There is a limit to our patience," Kim said, adding he had "finally signed" an order of "battle to an all-out counter-offensive."

   The North Korean leader threatened on Aug. 18 to turn the west sea into "a graveyard of the invaders" during a visit to a front-line artillery unit near the tense western sea border that was responsible for the North's deadly bombardment of South Korea's Yeonpyeong island in 2010.

   North Korea has long denounced the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea, claiming they amount to a prelude to war. Seoul and Washington have countered that the drills are defensive in nature.

   The young leader, during his visit to the frontline eastern sector, also watched a performance by the Moranbong Band with his wife Ri Sol-ju to celebrate the anniversary, according to the KCNA.

<관련 한글기사>

北 김정은 '참을성 한계' 도달, 왜?

김정은 북한 국방위원회 제1위원장이 '을지프리덤가디언(UFG)‘ 연습과 관련 직접적으로 비난하고 나섰다. 김정은 제1위원장은 “참을성에도 한계가 있다”며 “전면적 반공격전을 위한 작전계획을 검토하고 최종수표(서명)했다”고 말했다.

조선중앙통신은 26일 김정은 제1위원장이 북한 노동당 중앙군사위원회와 국방위원회에서 마련한 김정일 국방위원장의 선군혁명 영도 개시 52주년 '8·25 경축연회'에 부인 리설주와 함께 참석해 이 같은 내용의 연설을 했다고 전했다.

김 제1위원장은 연설에서 “나는 이미 서남전선의 최전방부대에 나가 만약 적들이 우리 영토와 영해에 한점의 불꽃이라도 튕긴다면 즉시 섬멸적 반타격을 안기고 조국통일 대업을 성취하기 위한 전면적 반공격전 이행에 대한 명령을 전군에 하달했으며 이를 위한 작전계획을 검토하고 최종수표했다”고 말했다.

앞서 지난 18일 중앙통신은 김정은 제1위원장이 2010년 연평도 포격을 주도했던서해 최남단의 장재도·무도 방어대 시찰에서 “침략자들이 전쟁을 강요한다면 서해를 적들의 최후무덤으로 만들라”며 이같이 명령했다고 보도했다.