By Xinhua,
Pyongyang : North Korea Thursday accused the US of planning a surprise pre-emptive attack on the communist country as the fallout of its denuclearisation programme.
“The US imperialists are now massively beefing up their naval and air forces and rapid task forces in South Korea and around the Korean Peninsula to stifle North Korea by force of arms,” the official KCNA news agency quoted a military source as saying Thursday.
The source elaborated that the US has deployed nuclear-powered carrier George Washington in Japan, fighter bombers F-22A in Alaska and B-52Hs on Guam Island.
“Moreover, it maintains 3,500 troops, a squadron of F-16 fighter bombers and another squadron of helicopters in South Korea,” he said, adding that a US war against North Korea “has entered the phase of its implementation”.
The communist country has announced that it will restore its Yongbyon nuclear facilities, which should have been undergoing a disablement process under a six-party deal.
According to the deal, North Korea agreed with the US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to freeze and disable its nuclear facilities in exchange for energy aid and an easing of sanctions. It also demanded the US to remove its name from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
But Washington has not yet removed Pyongyang from its list of terrorism sponsors, which prompted the communist country to take the latest step out of frustration.
The US insists that the East Asian nation first has to agree to a comprehensive nuclear verification protocol.