North Korea says it is ready to launch a “sacred war,” accusing South Korea of exacerbating tensions on the peninsula.
The North’s state media reports that defence chief Kim Yong Chun made the remarks during a national meeting in Pyongyang on Thursday.
The Korean Central News Agency quotes Kim as saying that North Korea is “fully prepared to launch a sacred war” - and noting it has nuclear capabilities - because South Korea is deliberately pushing the peninsula to the brink of a war.
North Korea’s anger has been piqued this week by South Korea’s staging of military drills near a front-line island Pyongyang attacked last month. Earlier in the week, however, North Korea said it would not deign to respond to the provocation.
