North Korea has condemned a United States plan to deploy a nuclear missile submarine to waters near the Korean peninsula, warning the move could incite a devastating atomic conflict, transmits Aljazeera.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday, a spokesperson for the North Korean defence ministry said Washington’s plan – agreed to by the leaders of the US and South Korea during an April summit – would introduce US strategic nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula for the first time since 1981.
“This is a very dangerous situation as it will bring the regional military tension to a more critical state and may incite the worst crisis of nuclear conflict in practice,” the unnamed spokesperson said.
The US plan is blatant nuclear blackmail against North Korea as well as regional countries and presents a grave threat to peace, the KCNA said.
“It is up to future US actions whether an extreme situation arises in the Korean peninsula region that nobody wants, and the United States will be held fully responsible if any unexpected situation occurs,” it said.
The visit is part of an effort to boost the deployment of US strategic assets to more effectively respond to North Korea’s accelerating nuclear and ballistic missiles programme.
A US nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine arrived at the port of Busan in South Korea last month, while in June, a US B-52 strategic bomber took part in air military drills with South Korea in a show of force following North Korea’s failed launch of a spy satellite.
Pyongyang said the US move to sail nuclear submarines has created a “very dangerous situation that makes it impossible for us not to realistically accept the worst-case scenario of a nuclear confrontation”.
