North Korea

Pyongyang threatens war

Article published on the 2009-03-09 Latest update 2009-03-09 13:30 TU

Protestors demonstrate against joint US-South Korean military exercises.
(Photo: Reuters)

North Korea put its army on high alert Monday as the United States and the South began their annual military exercises, increasing tensions in the region to their highest point in years.

The North's communist government also said that it was pushing ahead with the launch of a communications satellite, something that neighbouring countries worry could be cover for a missile test.

The North warned that any attempt to prevent the launch would be met with force. “Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean war,” a North Korean military representative said.

The North’s military was ordered to be “fully combat ready”, a manœuvre downplayed by the South as “rhetoric”.

The latest barrage of threats comes as North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, was unanimously re-elected leader of the country in a poll of parliamentarians on Sunday.

The United States, which keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea, will start its annual war games exercises this week. While the North denounces these training exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, the US and the South say that they are purely defensive.

Pyongyang cut off the military hot line with the South for the duration of the 12-day exercise, leaving the two nations without any means of communication at a time when an accidental skirmish could escalate dangerously.