Pentagon calls on North Korea to avoid destabilizing rhetoric

The Pentagon said Pyongyang should not take actions or words that further destabilize the situation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: KCNA

"We call on North Korea to avoid provocations, destabilizing actions and rhetoric. North Korea should make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious negotiations," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said on April 23, according to CNN.

“North Korea’s illicit weapons program poses a clear and grave threat to US national security,” he added.

The statement came just hours after a North Korean newspaper said Pyongyang was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier.

The US announced earlier this week that the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson had been ordered to head towards North Korea and that it would arrive off the Korean peninsula by the end of April. The US ship is currently conducting exercises with a Japanese destroyer near the Philippines.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has vowed to launch a nuclear strike in response if the United States launches a preemptive strike.

However, international security analysts say it is very difficult for Washington to launch a military attack on Pyongyang because of the huge consequences that such an action would cause. They assess the move to send an aircraft carrier as a deterrent and a show of power.

North Korea will mark the 85th anniversary of the founding of its military on April 25. Many experts believe that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear or missile test on that occasion. North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and test-fired several ballistic missiles.

The power of the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group. Graphics: Viet Chung (Click on the image to see details)

According to VNE