North Korea has denounced the United States recent ballistic missile test as a \u00c5\u201cmilitary provocation\u201d which justifies Pyongyang\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s military buildup, a report says.<\/p>\n
On May 22, the US Air Force launched the Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The missile test was initially planned for mid-April, but it delayed due to tensions with North Korea.<\/p>\n
According to a Sunday report by South Korean Yonhap news agency, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun<\/i> daily said in an editorial, \u00c5\u201cToday’s reality on the Korean Peninsula desperately urges our republic to strengthen our defense capacity with every means.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00c5\u201cWe do not hide the fact that we are developing (ballistic) missiles in order to secure final victory in an all-out war against the US,\u201d the daily added.<\/p>\n
North Korean Pyongyang Broadcasting Station radio has also slammed the test and said it shows a double standard applied by Washington.<\/p>\n
Tensions have risen between Washington and Pyongyang after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February. Pyongyang had previously launched a long-range rocket on December 12, 2012.<\/p>\n
The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of escalating military rhetoric following the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in the joint military exercises with South Korea that ended on April 30.<\/p>\n
The move prompted the North Korean government to step up its war rhetoric and authorize its army to launch \u00c5\u201cpreemptive nuclear strikes\u201d on the United States.<\/p>\n
Pyongyang has also said its military should be prepared to attack “all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii, and Guam.”<\/p>\n
On May 2, North Korea\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated in a commentary that the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula is attributable to the US \u00cb\u0153heinous hostile policy\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 toward North Korea.<\/p>\n
MR\/HN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n