North Korea says South Korea a target if it becomes US collective defence hub
A North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, Liaoning province, China June 8.
PHOTO: Reuters
SEOUL — North Korea said on Friday (Sept 25) that South Korea would become a "decisive target" for collective retaliation if it served as a central hub in a US-led collective defence system, state media KCNA reported.
In a KCNA commentary, Kang Chol-su, described as a department director at the Institute for Enemy State Studies, accused Washington of turning its ally South Korea into a base for pursuing global hegemony and using it as a platform to deploy first in overseas conflicts.
Kang cited remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea portraying South Korea as a key centre of collective defence and criticised joint drills and US deployments.
The commentary said Pyongyang had prepared countermeasures and would ruthlessly crush challenges to its security.
US Forces Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US stations about 28,500 military personnel in South Korea to help deter aggression from North Korea.
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