Pyongyang warned that Tokyo would be its primary target if war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, if Japan maintains its “hostile posture.” It also threatened a nuclear strike against the island nation if it intercepts any North Korean test missiles.
In the comments, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo’s standing orders to shoot down any North Korean missile heading towards Japan, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reports. The agency warned that any “provocative” intervention on the part of Japan would see Tokyo “consumed in nuclear flames.”
“Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first,” KCNA warned.
Speaking in Seoul alongside his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-Se on Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the rhetoric emanating from Pyongyang was “unacceptable.”
Kerry, who arrived in South Korea to kick off a four-day diplomatic tour in East Asia amidst rising tensions in the region, further insisted the international community “are all united on the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power.”
“I am here to make it clear today, on behalf of President Obama and the citizens of the United States and our bilateral security agreement, that the United States, will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves.”
Kerry continued that any North Korean nuclear missile test would be “a huge mistake.”
“If (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-Un decides to launch a missile, whether it’s across the Sea of Japan or any other direction, he will be choosing willfully to ignore the entire international community.”
“It will be a huge mistake for him to do that because it will further isolate his country,” Kerry continued.
His comments mirrored statements made by President Barack Obama, who met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“We both agree that now is the time for North Korea to end the belligerent approach they have taken and to try to lower temperatures,” Obama told reporters.
“It’s important for North Korea, like every other country in the world, to observe basic rules and norms,” he continued.
Kerry’s visit coincides with the disclosure of a US Defense Intelligence Agency report which says North Korea has the technological know-how to arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead.
The analysis, disclosed at a congressional hearing in Washington on Thursday, was rebuffed by Pentagon spokesman George Little.
Little argued “it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced” in the DIA report.
The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also concluded that the report was not in line with America’s other intelligence agencies.
“Moreover, North Korea has not yet demonstrated the full range of capabilities necessary for a nuclear armed missile,” Clapper continued.
On Wednesday, the South Korean military was put on high alert following intelligence reports from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington that a North Korean mid-range missile test could occur at any time.