The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has strongly condemned the United States’ political and military provocations after a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier visited the South Korean port of Busan.
The comments were made through an official statement by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the DPRK’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The statement was published on March 4 by the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“As soon as its new administration appeared this year, the U.S. has stepped up the political and military provocations against the DPRK, ‘carrying forward’ the former administration’s hostile policy,” her statement read. She accused U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration of stepping up political and military provocations against her country.
Kim added that the new U.S. administration was carrying forward its predecessor’s hostile policy against Pyongyang. She stressed that Washington has intensified its vicious confrontation with Pyongyang during the current month with a visit to Busan by the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.
The USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of a carrier strike group, arrived in Busan on March 2, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.
“The visit to Busan exemplifies the U.S. commitment to the region, further enhancing relationships with ROK leaders and the local population,” the U.S. Navy said, using the acronym for the South’s formal name.
Joint South Korea-U.S. “Freedom Shield” military exercises are set to begin this month.
Repeated joint military drills by South Korea and the U.S. have compelled the North to continuously develop its nuclear and missile technology. Pyongyang sees the joint South Korea-U.S. military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion.
Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in protest as joint military maneuvers by the U.S. and South Korea.
Last week, North Korea carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea, in a drill Pyongyang said was aimed at showing off its “counterattack” capabilities. (Press.TV.ir)
