North Korea warned Monday that any accidental event can develop into a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, as Seoul and Washington plan to stage annual joint military drills late this month.
The North's warning came as Pyongyang earlier threatened to carry out four intermediate-range ballistic missile strikes near the US territory of Guam.
"Even if no one wants, if a small accidental event flares up, anybody cannot prevent a war," the Korean Central News Agency said in its commentary.
South Korea and the US plan to conduct the two-week Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercise starting Aug. 21 amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
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(Yonhap) |
North Korea has claimed that the drill is a rehearsal for northern invasion, despite reassurances by Seoul and Washington that it is defensive in nature.
"Despite our warning, if the US continues to wield a nuclear bat in front of a nuclear power, it will only accelerate its own self-destruction," the KCNA said.
Tensions rose amid an exchange of bellicose rhetoric between the US and North Korea after Pyongyang launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July. The UN Security Council slapped a fresh US-led sanctions resolution on it.
North Korea's military said last week that it will finalize its plan by mid-August on attacks around Guam, home to key American air and naval bases.
US President Donald Trump said that the North will meet with "fire and fury" should it continue to endanger the US. He also warned that military solutions are "locked and loaded." (Yonhap)
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