SEOUL, South Korea — South
Korea and the United States have begun annual military drills despite
North Korea’s threat to launch nuclear strikes in response to the
exercises that it calls an invasion rehearsal.
Such
fiery rhetoric by Pyongyang is not unusual. But the latest warning
comes at a time of more tension following the defection of a senior
North Korean diplomat and a U.S. plan to place a high-tech missile
system in South Korea.
The
North’s military said in a statement Monday that it will turn Seoul and
Washington into “a heap of ashes through a Korean-style pre-emptive
nuclear strike” if they show any signs of aggression toward the North’s
territory.
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills that began Monday for a 12-day run is largely computer-simulated war games.
