The General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) said in a statement Thursday, “The US imperialists and the South Korean puppet warmongers [sic] anti-DPRK military provocations have pushed the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the uncontrollable and irreversible phase of the outbreak of nuclear war,” according to the International Business Times.
UPI quoted an additional North Korean statement deriding the plan and issuing a venomous threat.
"Do they think they can confront our republic, a nuclear power of the East, with the scrap weapons that the United States tossed them?"
"Although it is not what we want, if our enemy shows even the most minor sign, a command can be issued immediately to the Hwasong artillery unit regarding a loaded nuclear warhead… this means our nuclear warheads can turn Seoul into a sea of fire in an instant."
After North Korea’s fifth successful nuclear test, Seoul instituted a dedicated military unit capable of overthrowing DPRK leader Kim Jong-Un, called Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-Koo told reporters, "If it becomes clear the enemy intends to use nuclear-tipped missiles, in order to suppress its aims, the concept [of special forces] is to retaliate against key areas that include the North Korean leadership."
Pyongyang has also threatened the US military base in Guam for engaging in a show of unity with Seoul. Four days after North Korea’s most recent nuclear test, the US flew two B-1 bombers over the Korean peninsula, escorted by South Korean F-15 fighter jets.
The North appeared to be unimpressed with the display, saying in a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency, “They are bluffing that B-1Bs are enough for fighting an all-out nuclear war… Prompted by their sinister aim of branding all self-defensive measures taken by the DPRK to protect the sovereignty of the country and the nation's right to live as ‘provocations’ and ‘threats’ and finding a pretext for justifying their aggressive scenario, the US imperialists keep letting their nuclear strategic bombers fly over South Korea in a bid to seek an opportunity of mounting a preemptive nuclear attack."
