North Korea: ‘U.S. should ponder grave situation’

Editor’s note: Workers World reprints below an official statement from the Korean People’s Army on the dangerous situation created by U.S. military moves close to the boundaries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — north Korea. We think it’s important that people in the U.S. hear directly from the Koreans themselves, especially since the U.S. media are unanimous in blaming People’s Korea for the war danger that exists.

A fact never mentioned in the corporate media in the U.S. is that the NATO powers, and specifically the U.S. government, have never pledged “no first use” of their nuclear weapons. They keep open the “first-strike” option as a threat to the world. Only three countries have pledged “no first use” — the DPRK, China and India. The Soviet Union also made such a pledge, but the Russian government that took over after the fall of the USSR revoked that pledge in 1993.

The spokesperson for the General Staff of the KPA issued the following statement on April 4:

A [touch]-and-go situation is prevailing on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. formation of B-52s based on Guam flew into the sky above south Korea all of a sudden to stage a drill under the simulated conditions of a nuclear strike at the DPRK and formations of F-22s took off from Japan proper and Okinawa and were deployed in the Osan air force base in south Korea to watch for a chance to make a surprise strike.

B-2s flew into the air over waters of the West Sea of Korea from the U.S. mainland and nuclear-powered guided missile submarines and guided missile destroyers of the U.S. Navy which had been operating in waters of the Western Pacific are busy sailing in the West and East Seas of Korea.

It was reported that [a] super-large nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its group will enter the waters off the Korean Peninsula soon after leaving waters of the Indian Ocean or the western coast of the U.S. mainland.

South Korea and waters around it are turning into places for display of various types of nuclear strike means of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces and a dangerous hotbed of a nuclear war in the true sense of the word.

The U.S. high-handed hostile policy toward the DPRK aimed to encroach upon its sovereignty and the dignity of its supreme leadership and bring down its social system is being implemented through actual military actions without hesitation. Days and months have passed on this land amid the constant danger of war but never had the whole Korean Peninsula been exposed to such danger of a nuclear war as today.

Under this situation the towering resentment of the DPRK’s army and people has reached an irrepressible phase as they are all out in the all-out action to defend the sovereignty and prevent a nuclear war of the U.S.

In view of the prevailing situation the world’s people who love justice and value conscience are unanimously becoming critical of the U.S. and its followers for their disgraceful behavior of prodding the UN Security Council into adopting “resolutions on sanctions” against the DPRK and vocal expressing concern over the situation on the peninsula.

The moment of explosion is approaching fast. No one can say a war will break out in Korea or not and whether it will break out today or tomorrow.

The responsibility for this grave situation entirely rests with the U.S. administration and military warmongers keen to encroach upon the DPRK’s sovereignty and bring down its dignified social system with brigandish logic.

In view of this situation, the KPA General Staff in charge of all operations will take powerful practical military counteractions in succession as the KPA Supreme Command had already solemnly declared internally and externally.

We have already sent a strong message to the present puppet authorities and military of south Korea following in the footsteps of traitor [former south Korean President] Lee Myung Bak so that they may understand our position.

As a matter of fact, puppet military gangsters such as [south Korean Minister of Defense] Kim Kwan Jin are human rejects not worth becoming targets of the DPRK’s revolutionary armed forces.

We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified.

The U.S. had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation.

Rodong Sinmun