U.S. Will be to Blame for Consequences from Joint Military Drill: KPA Panmunjom Mission

Pyongyang, August 22 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People's Army released a statement on Tuesday over the U.S. imperialists' start of Ulji Freedom Guardian 17 joint military drill to invade the DPRK in collusion with the south Korean puppet warmongers.

According to the statement, more than 17 500 U.S. imperialist aggressor troops in south Korea and abroad, at least 50 000 troops of the south Korean puppet army and armed forces of seven satellite countries are now participating in the war rehearsal together with 480 000 public employees of the puppet administration and police, paramilitary forces and personnel of private enterprises as well as lethal equipment of the aggressor forces in the U.S. mainland and Pacific operational theatre involved.

What should not be overlooked is the fact that though the enemies are noisily vociferating about "annual" and "defensive maneuver", the rehearsal is concentrated on the drill of "beheading operation" and "secret operation" to "remove" the supreme headquarters of the DPRK and one for countering the DPRK's ballistic rockets under "OPLAN 5015", an aggressive war scenario to carry out preemptive strike against the DPRK.

No one can vouch that these huge forces concentrated in south Korea will not go over to an actual war action now that the military tensions have reached an extreme pitch in the Korean peninsula.

Moreover, high-ranking bosses of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces flew into south Korea to hold a war confab. Such huddle is increasing the gravity of the situation, the statement notes, and goes on:

Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, flew into south Korea on August 13 to be followed by the commander of the U.S. forces in the Pacific and the commander of the U.S. Strategic Forces on August 20 and then the chief of the Missile Defence Agency.

It is by no means fortuitous that the public opinion at home and abroad have expressed deep concern over the trips to south Korea by brass hats of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces, who would be directly in charge of preemptive strike at the DPRK and war of aggression, with the present joint military exercises as an occasion.

The U.S. will be wholly held accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by such reckless aggressive war maneuvers, as it chose a military confrontation with the DPRK. -0-