North Korea threatens to 'sink' Japan, reduce U.S. to 'ashes and darkness'
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - A North
Korean state agency threatened on Thursday to use nuclear weapons to
"sink" Japan and reduce the United States to "ashes and darkness" for
supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution and sanctions over its
latest nuclear test.
The Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which handles
the North's external ties and propaganda, also called for the breakup
of the Security Council, which it called "a tool of evil" made up of
"money-bribed" countries that move at the order of the United States.
"The four islands of the archipelago should be sunken
into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche. Japan is no longer needed to
exist near us," the committee said in a statement carried by the
North's official KCNA news agency.
Juche is the North's ruling ideology that mixes
Marxism and an extreme form of go-it-alone nationalism preached by state
founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong
Un.
Regional tension has risen markedly since the
reclusive North conducted its sixth, and by far its most powerful,
nuclear test on Sept. 3, following a series of missile tests, including
one that flew over Japan.
The 15-member Security Council voted unanimously on a
U.S.-drafted resolution and a new round of sanctions on Monday in
response, banning North Korea's textile exports that are the second
largest only to coal and mineral, and capping fuel supplies.
The North reacted to the latest action by the
Security Council, which had the backing of veto-holding China and
Russia, by reiterating threats to destroy the United States, Japan and
South Korea.
"Let's reduce the U.S. mainland into ashes and
darkness. Let's vent our spite with mobilization of all retaliation
means which have been prepared till now," the statement said.
Japan's Nikkei stock index and dollar/yen currency
pared gains, although traders said that was more because of several
Chinese economic indicators released on Thursday rather than a reaction
to the North's latest statement.
South Korea's won also edged down around the same time over domestic financial concerns.
Despite the
North's threats, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was against
having nuclear weapons in his country, either by developing its own
arsenal or bringing back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons that were
withdrawn in the early 1990s.
"To respond to North Korea by having our own nuclear
weapons will not maintain peace on the Korean peninsula and could lead
to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia," Moon said in an interview
with CNN.
South Korea's Unification Ministry also said it planned to provide $8
million through the U.N. World Food Programme and UNICEF to help
infants and pregnant women in the North.
The move marks Seoul's first humanitarian
assistance for the North since its fourth nuclear test in January 2016
and is based on a longstanding policy of separating humanitarian aid
from politics, the ministry said.
"DANCING TO THE TUNE"
The North's latest threats also singled out
Japan for "dancing to the tune" of the United States, saying it should
never be pardoned for not offering a sincere apology for its
"never-to-be-condoned crimes against our people", an apparent reference
to Japan's wartime aggression.
It also referred to South Korea as "traitors and dogs" of the United States.
Japan criticized the North's statement harshly.
"This announcement is extremely provocative
and egregious. It is something that markedly heightens regional tension
and is absolutely unacceptable," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting
India, called for strict enforcement of the U.N. resolution, saying the
world must force a change.
The 15-member Security Council voted
unanimously on a U.S.-drafted resolution and a new round of sanctions
against North Korea on Monday in response to its latest and most
powerful test, banning North Korea's textile exports that are the second
largest only to coal and mineral, and capping fuel supplies.
North Korea had already rejected the Security Council resolution, vowing to press ahead with its nuclear and missile programs.
A tougher initial U.S. draft of Monday's
resolution was weakened to win the support of China, the North's lone
major ally, and Russia. Significantly, it stopped short of imposing a
full embargo on oil exports to North Korea, most of which come from
China.
The latest sanctions also make it illegal for foreign firms to form commercial joint ventures with North Korean entities.
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed that
North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with a
nuclear-tipped missile, but has also asked China to do more to rein in
its neighbor. China in turn favors an international response to the
problem.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua
Chunying said the international community had reached a "high consensus"
on trying to realize a peaceful solution.
"We urge the relevant directly involved
parties to seize the opportunity and have the political nerve to make
the correct political choice as soon as possible," Hua told a regular
press briefing.
The North accuses the United States, which
has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly
threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.
The United States and South Korea are
technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean
conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.
(For a
graphic on North Korea's missile and nuclear tests, click:
http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010050SV1V2/northkorea-missiles.jpg)
(Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd
in Beijing, Hyonhee Shin in Seoul, Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi and
Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)
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