North Korea has reignited fears of a potential war in Asia as the rogue nation issued a chilling new threat to the United States and a major ally in the region.
Kim Jong-un‘s sister Kim Yo Jong slammed Washington and South Korea for recent military drills, claiming the two allies had “crossed the red line.”
Ms Kim said: “The war maniacs should judge by themselves what result such desperate war drill hysteria would bring in the end.”
Tensions between the the two countries have been at boiling point for months, as South Korea repeatedly condemned the Kim regime for a series of missile test launches.
The North, on the other hand, warned routine military exercises with the United States are a provocative act and warned Seoul could face dire consequences if the drills continued.
In a joint statement issued ahead of the drills, the three nations insisted the aim was to improve military cooperation and “protect freedom for peace and stability” in the Korean Peninsula and the region as a whole.
Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, described Kim’s statement as an attempt to trigger an internal divide in South Korea.
Mr Koo said that North Korea must first look at its own human rights violations and the international isolation caused by its nuclear programme.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry separately said it will continue its live-fire drills as scheduled but didn’t say when and where new exercises are planned.