North Korean threatens response to US-South Korea naval exercise

Jul 23, 2010, 9:15 GMT

Hanoi - The spokesman of the North Korean delegation at an Asian security forum said Friday that Pyongyang would physically respond to planned US-South Korean naval exercises.

'The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) position is clear - there will be a physical response against the steps imposed by the United States military,' said Ri Tong Il on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations' Regional Forum in Hanoi.

The US and South Korea announced a joint naval drill is to start on Sunday, a response to the sinking of a South Korean warship, which Seoul blames on the Stalinist North.

'This is not a defensive training,' Ri said, adding that the sophisticated weaponry and the US aircraft carrier involved mean it could not be compared with a military exercise conducted by any other country.

'It is against the sovereignty of the DPRK and the security of the DPRK,' he said. 'It is a great threat to the Korean Peninsula and also to the region of Asia as a whole.'

He said the drill was a violation of the spirit of a statement by the United Nations Security Council meeting that called for self-restraint and the settlement of pending issues through direct dialogue and negotiations.

'It is no longer the 19th century with gunboat diplomacy ... it is a new century and Asian countries are in need of peace and development and DPRK is also moving to that end,' Ri said.

North Korea's Central News Agency said in an editorial that it would respond with 'corpses and graves' if the US 'provokes another war.'