N Korea 'only months away' from US nuclear strike

International Desk: The US and North Korea have once again swapped nuclear strike warnings as they accused each other of ratcheting up tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The two traded blows at the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva where US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said that North Korea might be able to hit the continental US with a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile within months.

North Korean diplomat Ju Yong-chol accused the US of deploying nuclear assets in the region in preparation for a preemptive strike.

"In view of the nature and scale of US military reinforcements, they are designed to make a preemptive strike against the DPRK," said Ju.

The US ambassador added that China and Russia were expanding their nuclear arsenals, a claim that prompted anger from their delegations.

"Russia, China and North Korea are growing their stockpiles, increasing the prominence of nuclear weapons in their security strategies, and - in some cases - pursuing the development of new nuclear capabilities to threaten other peaceful nations," Wood said.

North Korea is under pressure over its continued weapons development programmes, though relations have warmed slightly as a North Korean delegation travels to the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The disarmament conference came days after US President Donald Trump's administration said it would modernise its existing nuclear stockpile in what is largely a continuation of Barack Obama's nuclear policy. The strategy would modernise the US' bomber aircraft, submarine and land-based missiles.

The strategy - detailed in the Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Review - aims to develop smaller-yield weapons as it is believed that existing weapons are too large to be an effective deterrent.

 

Source: Agencies

 

risingbd/Dhaka/February 6, 2018/A K Azad