A week after China urged North Korea to desist from carrying out any nuclear or missile tests and for the US and North Korea to not hold joint military drills, both camps seem to have upped their ante.
According to a Reuters report, after the US’ aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson joined South Korea’s military exercise, North Korea issued a stringent warning that it will launch strikes if they infringe upon its “sovereignty or dignity”.
“If they infringe on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (North Korea's official name) sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater,” North Korea’s KCNA news agency said.
The news agency also reported that “on 11 March, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army”.
A US Navy spokesman said the Carl Vinson was on a “regular, scheduled deployment to the region”.
North Korea had launched four ballistic missiles in the beginning of the month.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)