N. Korea says it`s ready for war in face of S. Korea-U.S. joint drill

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Tuesday its military is ready for
combat in face of "war-provoking maneuvers" by South Korea and the United States
who begin a joint military exercise from next week.
The annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drill takes place on March 9-20 amid
mounting tensions surrounding the North's alleged missile activity and threats of
border clashes.
In a rare military meeting it requested with the U.S.-led United Nations Command
(UNC) on Monday, North Korean officials filed lengthy complaints against the
planned drill, South Korean sources said.
"Our revolutionary armed forces are fully prepared with combat mobilization
posture to sternly strike any provocative maneuvers by the enemies to harm the
dignity and safety of our republic," the Minju Joson, published by the North's
Cabinet, said.
It called the Korean Peninsula a "powder keg of Northeast Asia" and said the war
drill "is a serious military threat to our republic and also an extremely
dangerous fire play aimed at provoking a new war."
Seoul and Washington say the military drills are defense-oriented, but Pyongyang
persistently denounces them as preparations for preemptive strikes.
North Korea and the UNC plan to hold additional talks this week to ease border
tension, Seoul officials said.
The multinational U.N. forces fought for South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean
War and the UNC still monitors the ceasefire along the heavily fortified
inter-Korean border. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here as a legacy of
the war.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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