Daily Mail:
North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-Un has threatened to turn Washington and Seoul into ‘flames and ashes’ and demanded further nuclear capability tests in his pariah state.
Tensions have intensified on the peninsula with South Korea and the US reportedly engaged in joint ‘decapitation strike’ exercises designed to simulate wiping out the North’s leadership.
In turn, Jong-Un has overseen two short-range ballistic missile tests and ordered more ‘nuclear explosion tests to estimate the destructive power’ of his ‘newly produced nuclear warheads’.
Since the joint drills began Monday, the North has issued daily warnings and statements, talking up its nuclear strike capabilities and threatening its neighbours and the allied US.
Just days after he was photographed posing in front of what state media described as a miniaturised nuclear warhead, Kim also said the weapon required further testing.
Experts are divided as to just how far the North may have gone in shrinking warheads to a size capable of fitting on a ballistic missile – a major step forward in strike capability that would present a heightened threat to South Korea, other countries in the region and, eventually, the US mainland.
According to state news agency KCNA, Thursday’s launch of two short-range ballistic missiles, which traversed the eastern part of the country before falling into the Sea of Japan, was part of a nuclear strike exercise.
The aim was to simulate conditions for ‘exploding nuclear warheads from the preset altitude above targets in the ports under enemy control,’ the agency said.
Watching the exercise, Kim reiterated an earlier threat to launch an immediate nuclear attack if the ‘sabre-rattling’ South Korea-US drills should harm ‘even a single tree or a blade of grass’ on North Korean territory.
‘I will issue a prompt order to launch attack with all military strike means,’ he said.
