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North Korea Repeats Threat

Graham Clark |
January 27, 2013 | 4:35 p.m. PST

Executive Producer

Kim Jong-un has held power in North Korea since 2011 (via Flickr).
Kim Jong-un has held power in North Korea since 2011 (via Flickr).
Under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s government has declared their plans to target the United States and South Korea with violent military action, including the use of nuclear weaponry. Jong-un has cited recently-expanded economic sanctions, put in place by the United Nations, as the source of this political outrage.

This information came in the form of a statement broadcast by North Korea’s Central News Agency Jan. 26. Jong-un revealed specific details of his country’s plan to attack the United States over previous days.

The first such announcement came on Jan. 24, in which the regime declared their rocket-propulsion tests were being conducted with the intention of deploying an attack on America soil, initially targeting the Hawaiian islands. Previously, Jong-un’s administration had declared the goal of these tests to be astrophysics research.

The following day, Pyongyang-based organization North Korea’s Peaceful Committee for Reunification with the Fatherland claimed that “strong physical counter-measures” would ensue if South Korea continued to work in conjunction with sanctions established by the United Nations and United States.

A deputy spokeswoman for the South Korean Unification Ministry said, “North Korea should immediately stop its nuclear test and other provocation and should choose a different path by cooperating with the international community.”

The relationships between other global political players have been shaken by the release of this information. Some analysts suggest that the influence wielded by China in ongoing negotiations with North Korea may be altered by events taken place following Jan. 24.

President Obama is yet to respond to Jong-un’s remarks personally, but officials speaking on behalf of the administration have enthusiastically and unanimously denounced the actions of North Korea’s leadership. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the United States was full prepared for the possibility of a rocket-propelled attack at this time.

VIDEO: Watch footage provided by North Korea's government following extensive rocket testing.


Contact Executive Producer Graham Clark here, follow him on Twitter  @hello_thankyou

 



 

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