A US guided-missile submarine arrived in South Korea on Tuesday as North Korea prepared to mark the anniversary of the founding of its military amid fears of a new nuclear test.
A US guided-missile submarine arrived in South Korea on Tuesday as North Korea prepared to mark the anniversary of the founding of its military amid fears of a new nuclear test.
Envoys from the US, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo, with a senior Chinese official due to arrive later in the day.
North Korea often marks significant dates by displaying its military capability and has conducted five nuclear tests. Pyongyang launched a missile one day after the 105th birthday of late founder Kim Il Sung on April 15.
However the morning came and went without any nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches, and all that was publicly scheduled for the day were gatherings for mass dancing, a common celebration on major North Korean holidays.
A “national meeting” of thousands of senior military and civilian officials was held the day before, although North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend.
His minister of defence General Pak Yong Sik told the event that the country is ready to use pre-emptive strikes or any other measures it deems necessary to defend itself against the “US imperialists”.
He said: “The situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula is so tense that a nuclear war may break out due to the frantic war drills of the US imperialists and their vassal forces for aggression.”
Any missile test could test the North Korea policies of President Donald Trump, who has reportedly settled on a strategy that emphasises increased pressure on Pyongyang with the help of China, the North’s only major ally.
