North Korea threatens to pre-emptively attack, "liberate" the South

PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korea said Saturday, March 12 its military is ready to pre-emptively attack and "liberate" the South if it sees signs that American and South Korean troops involved in the drills were attempting to invade the North, the Associated Press reports.

The declaration from General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army on state media is the latest outburst over the drills that the U.S. and South Korea say are defensive and routine. At the start of the drills on Monday, the North warned of an indiscriminate "pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice" on Washington and Seoul.

The KPA said it will counter the drills by the United States and South Korea it says are aimed at advancing into Pyongyang with plans to "liberate the whole of South Korea including Seoul" and also that it is capable of executing "ultra-precision blitzkrieg" strikes against enemy targets.

In response to North's statement, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff called for North Korea to stop its threats and "rash behavior" and warned that a provocation from the North would result in the destruction of its highest leadership.