“The (U.S.) defense commitment to South Korea and Japan is clear,” the Pentagon said in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to a munitions factory and reiteration of his country’s readiness for war.
“We have been very clear about the threat posed by North Korea, and our defense commitments to South Korea and Japan are very clear, and so is our commitment to the security of the region,” Deputy Defense Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a regular briefing on Friday local time.
“We will continue to coordinate with the governments of South Korea and Japan to counter the North Korean threat,” he said, adding, “We are not taking any hostile actions against North Korea, and we will continue to engage in inter-Korean dialogue and engagement (with North Korea).”
Earlier, on Nov. 11-12, Kim visited a tactical missile factory and a tactical missile launcher factory, saying, “We need to produce and equip more modern and high-performance launchers that can actually contribute to the army’s war readiness.”
On March 3-5, Kim also visited munitions factories, including a large-caliber artillery shell production plant, and at an expanded meeting of the Workers’ Party Central Committee for the Armed Forces on March 9, he emphasized that 카지노사이트넷 “we should launch a full-scale struggle for mass production of various armaments to meet the operational needs of the modernized military.”