North Korea threatens to attack US bases in Asia with strategic missiles

The North Korean military has vowed to attack US and allied forces in East Asia if Washington takes aggressive action.

North Korea will strike US military bases in Japan and South Korea, along with the South Korean presidential office in Seoul, if Washington takes any aggressive action, state news agency KCNA said today, citing a statement from the North's General Staff.

Pyongyang threatens to attack all US bases in Asia. Illustration photo: Reuters

North Korea's military has pledged to "mercilessly strike" the US if a US aircraft carrier group makes provocative moves.

"Our strongest response to the US and its vassal forces will be carried out in a ruthless manner, leaving no aggressors alive," the statement said.

Pyongyang said that the administration of US President Donald Trump "stepped onto a clear path of blackmail" when it carried out a surprise missile strike on Syria on April 7.

The North Korean General Staff noted that US military bases in the Pacific, in Guam, Japan's Okinawa Island, as well as US territory, are within Pyongyang's strategic missile range.

The Pentagon is sending the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula. The ship has a displacement of 97,000 tons, more than 5,000 sailors and 60 aircraft. Its escort ships include a guided-missile cruiser, the USS Lake Champlain, and two destroyers, the USS Wayne E. Meyer and the USS Michael Murphy.

US officials said Washington's move to send the carrier group near North Korea was intended to demonstrate military strength, signaling that the US military could operate in areas where Pyongyang could engage in ballistic missile or other provocative military activities.

According to VNE