South Korea warns to destroy North as war of words escalate
Iran Press TV
Fri Mar 8, 2013 8:27AM GMT
South Korea has warned that North Korea will “perish from earth” if Pyongyang goes ahead with its threats to attack the South.
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a statement on Friday that Pyongyang’s threats to launch nuclear strikes against the US and the South would only lead to the collapse of its leadership.
"If North Korea attacks South Korea with a nuclear weapon, Kim Jong-un's regime will perish from earth," said the statement carried out by Yonhap news agency.
"Although atomic bombs were used twice in the past to end World War II, if the nuclear bomb attacks a free and democratic society, such as the Republic of Korea, mankind would not forgive it," it added.
On Thursday, Pyongyang threatened to launch “preemptive” nuclear strikes on the US to defend itself in the event that Washington ignited a nuclear war.
North Korea also said a second Korean war would be “unavoidable” if the US and South Korea refused Pyongyang’s calls to cancel their large-scale joint military exercise scheduled to kick off next week.
The threats came as the UN Security Council approved a new series of sanctions to punish North Korea for its February 12 nuclear test. The sanctions targeted the country’s economy and leadership.
Pyongyang said on Friday that it has cancelled all agreements on non-aggression with South Korea and cut the hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also toured two islands near the disputed maritime border with the South on Thursday, saying the country was "fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war."
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