North Korea threatens retaliation after ‘preemtive strike’ comment from South Korean official

North Korea shouldn’t be happy with a remark made by a senior South Korean official and has warned the nation might face a “severe risk,” an official mentioned.

Kim Yo Jong, the authoritative sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, pushed again on South Korea’s protection minister, who mentioned his nation might launch a preemptive strike on their northern neighbors, calling him a “scum-like man.”

“The mindless and scum-like man dare point out a ‘preemptive strike’ at a nuclear weapons state,” Kim mentioned advised state media.

NORTH KOREA MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR POSSIBLE NUCLEAR TEST: DEFENSE OFFICIALS

She additionally warned South Korea may very well be topic to retaliation as South Korean Protection Minister Suh Wook boasted Friday that his nation may launch precision strikes on North Korea if his nation believes there to be an impending missile strike.

“South Korea might face a severe risk owing to the reckless remarks made by its protection minister,” she added. “South Korea ought to self-discipline itself if it needs to stave off catastrophe.”

NORTH KOREA FIRES SUSPECTED LONG-RANGE MISSILE TOWARD SEA

The remark in query from Wook got here amid missile take a look at launches from North Korea and is especially uncommon as South Korean President Moon Jae-in pushes for reconciliation throughout the Korean Peninsula.

A South Korean prepare runs on the rail monitor, which the 2 Koreas hope to ultimately use as a global transport hyperlink, close to to the border village of Panmunjom in North Korea, in Paju, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018.  (AP Picture/Ahn Younger-joon)
(AP Picture/Ahn Younger-joon)

Pak Jong Chon, an official inside the North Korean authorities, additionally warned that “any slight misjudgment and sick assertion rattling the opposite social gathering underneath the current state of affairs” may end in “a harmful battle and a full-blown battle.”

FILE – On this April 8, 2012, file picture, a soldier stands in entrance of the Unha-3 rocket at a launching web site in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. (AP Picture/David Guttenfelder, File)
(AP Picture/David Guttenfelder, File)

North Korea will “mercilessly direct army pressure into destroying main targets in Seoul and the South Korean military” if a preemptive assault happens, Pak mentioned.

The Related Press contributed to this report.