Joint military exercises exacerbate instability in Northeast Asia; North Korean diplomat

Han Song U, DPRK ambassador slams ongoing U.S-South Korean drill in an exclusive interview with ILNA news agency. You can read his interview as follows:

ILNA: How do you evaluate the recent U.S.-south Korea war drill?

The U.S. and the South Korean army have started joint military exercises further worsening the instable situation on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia in disregard of our repeated warnings.

The joint military exercises are the most vivid expression of the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK, designed to stifle it by force, and an unwelcoming act of self-destruction for which a dear price should be paid as they threaten the safety of our people and further imperil the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Whatever the scale or mode, the joint military exercises are of aggressive nature as they are a war rehearsal and preliminary nuclear war exercises for further rounding off the preparations for putting into practice the operational plan with the preemptive strike at us as the gist.

ILNA: How does this drill affect the fragile situation in the Korean peninsula?

The U.S. doggedly pushes forward with the aggression war drill at such a sensitive time as now when the international eyes are focused on the development of the situation on the peninsula. It is indeed a chief architect destroying peace and stability in the region. As long as the U.S. forces remain in South Korea, the root cause for the periodic aggravation of the situation on the Korean peninsula will never vanish. For peace to settle on the peninsula, it is imperative for the U.S. to withdraw its troops and military hardware deployed in South Korea.

ILNA: How would DPRK respond to the U.S.-south Korea provocative activities?

The dangerous war exercises pushed ahead by the U.S. and the South Korean side will surely make them face more serious security threats. The reality proves that only substantial deterrent, not words, can ensure the peace and security of the Korean peninsula, and we were quite right when we decided to steadily build up the capabilities for national defense.

The party and government of the DPRK have already clarified that we will counter the U.S. on the principle of power for power and goodwill for goodwill. We will never idly look at the threats against us as the U.S. policy towards the DPRK remains unchanged. We will put more spur to further increasing the deterrent of absolute capacity to cope with the ever-growing military threats from the U.S., i.e. the national defense power and powerful preemptive strike capabilities for rapidly countering any military actions against us.

ILNA: The present U.S. administration touts “diplomatic engagement” with DPRK. Does the current war drill demonstrate the U.S. will not to engage DPRK peacefully?

The reality also proves that "diplomatic engagement" and "dialogue with no strings attached" touted by the present U.S. administration is hypocrisy to cover up its aggressive nature and its underlying motive is to stifle the DPRK by force.

It is as clear as noonday from the content of the joint military exercises that it is a war drill aimed to make a preemptive strike and invade us. Now the U.S. describes the military exercises a “defensive” one but it is nothing more than preposterous sophism.

The recent behaviors of the U.S. suggest that it would further intensify the military acts hostile to countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The international public opinion critical of the U.S. joint military drill is also on the rise. We will in the future, too, further deepen solidarity with anti-U.S., independent states.

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