North Korea Says US Faces ‘Merciless Revenge’ Over Drills

SEOUL: North Korea threatened the US on Tuesday, saying it will face “merciless revenge” for ignoring Pyongyang’s warnings over annual military drills with South Korea.

The isolated nation said it would be a misjudgment for the US to think that North Korea will “sit comfortably without doing anything”, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, citing an unidentified military spokesman.

The ongoing drills and visits of U.S. military officials to South Korea create the circumstances for a “mock war” on the Korean peninsula, KCNA said.


The comments represent a more belligerent tone after a war of words between the US and North Korea appeared to have subsided. US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week for waiting to launch missiles over Japan into waters near Guam, after previously warning of “fire and fury” if he continued to threaten the American homeland.

US Pacific Command chief Harry Harris on Tuesday defended the drills while calling for a diplomatic solution to the North Korea crisis. He said the military needed to be ready for all scenarios, and added that the US has “complete confidence” in its ability to “destroy any missiles that come into our area”.