(LEAD) N. Korea says S. Korea, U.S. will pay 'terrible price' if they use force

All News 02:29 November 02, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from a Pentagon spokesperson in paras 8-11; ADDS photos; CHANGES dateline)
By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Wednesday said the U.S. and South Korea will pay a terrible price should they decide to attack the North, arguing the allies' ongoing joint military drills are aimed at preparing for a potential invasion.

Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, also called on Seoul and Washington to halt what he claimed to be military provocation against Pyongyang.

"Should the U.S. and South Korea attempt to use force against us, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea military's special forces will immediately carry out the strategic mission they have been given, and the U.S. and South Korea will face a terrifying event and pay a terrible price," the North Korean official said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"They must keep in mind that taking this as a mere warning itself will be a huge mistake under current circumstances," Pak added, according to KCNA.

An F-35B stealth fighter from U.S. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 takes off from an air base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on South Korea's west coast, as South Korea and the United States kicked off joint air drills, in this undated photo released by the South Korean Air Force on Nov. 1, 2022. The Vigilant Storm exercise, which began the previous day and will run through Nov. 4 over the Korean Peninsula, is aimed at bolstering the allies' deterrence against evolving North Korean threats. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The statement comes as Seoul and Washington are holding combined air drills, called Vigilant Storm.

A spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry on Monday (Seoul time) accused the joint military exercises of being a "ceaseless and reckless" military provocation.

Pak argued the exercise was named after Operation Desert Storm, code name for military operations in the 1990-1991 Gulf War, and that it represents the allies' intention to provoke, if not invade, North Korea.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder partly dismissed the accusation, saying Vigilant Storm had been long planned and that it is aimed at enhancing the allies' joint readiness.

"This year's event, which was long scheduled, will strengthen the operational and tactical capabilities, combined air operations and support our strong combined defense posture," Ryder said of the joint exercise in a daily press briefing.

The spokesperson declined to comment directly on North Korean accusations, but reiterated the defensive nature of the air drills.

"The exercise that we are conducting is a long planned exercise focused on enhancing interoperability of our forces to work together to defend the Republic of Korea and our allies in the region," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder is seen answering questions in a daily press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Nov. 1, 2022 in this image captured from the department's website. (Yonhap)

The North Korean official also took issue with the recently released U.S. National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review, in which the U.S. Department of Defense said a nuclear attack by North Korea against the U.S. or its allies will result in the "end" of the North Korean regime.

"What is clear is that the ongoing joint air exercise of the U.S. and South Korea that was resurrected after five years is an extension of such provocation," said Pak.