N. Korea's Kim issues threat before S. Korea-US drills

26.02.2012

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to launch a powerful retaliatory strike against South Korea if provoked, state media said Sunday, a day before the start of annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said that the 12-day, largely computer-simulated war games set to start Monday are defensive in nature.

The report of the warning came a day after a senior U.S. envoy said ties between the rival Koreas must improve before the United States and North Korea can achieve real progress in their relationship.

Kim, the supreme commander of the North's 1.2 million-member military, issued the instruction to troops during a visit to front-line military units, including one that shelled a South Korean island in 2010.