SEOUL: North Korea's military said on Monday it will take "physical response" to a move by the United States and South Korea to deploy the advanced THAAD missile defense system to the Korean peninsula to counter the threat from the North.
The United States and South Korea said on Friday that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system will be used as defence against North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
The announcement was the latest move by the allies against the North which conducted its fourth nuclear test this year and launched a long-range rocket, resulting in tough new UN sanctions and a series of bilateral sanctions against it.
"There will be physical response measures from us as soon as the location and time that the invasionary tool for US world supremacy, THAAD, will be brought into South Korea," the North's military said in a statement.
"It is the unwavering will of our army to deal a ruthless retaliatory strike and turn (the South) into a sea of fire and a pile of ashes the moment we have an order to carry it out," the statement carried by the official KCNA news agency said.
The North frequently threatens to attack the South and US interests in Asia and the Pacific.
The move to deploy the THAAD system, which drew a swift and sharp protest from China, came a day after the US Treasury Department blacklisted leader North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.
North Korea called this "a declaration of war" and vowed a tough response.
A South Korean Defence Ministry official said selection of a site for THAAD could come "within weeks," and the allies were working to have it operational by the end of 2017.
It will be deployed to US Forces Korea "to protect alliance military forces," the South and the United States said on Friday. The United States maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean war.
It will be focused solely on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and would not be directed towards any third-party nations, the two countries said last week.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States and South Korea said on Friday that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system will be used as defence against North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
The announcement was the latest move by the allies against the North which conducted its fourth nuclear test this year and launched a long-range rocket, resulting in tough new UN sanctions and a series of bilateral sanctions against it.
"It is the unwavering will of our army to deal a ruthless retaliatory strike and turn (the South) into a sea of fire and a pile of ashes the moment we have an order to carry it out," the statement carried by the official KCNA news agency said.
Advertisement
The move to deploy the THAAD system, which drew a swift and sharp protest from China, came a day after the US Treasury Department blacklisted leader North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.
Advertisement
A South Korean Defence Ministry official said selection of a site for THAAD could come "within weeks," and the allies were working to have it operational by the end of 2017.
Advertisement
It will be focused solely on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and would not be directed towards any third-party nations, the two countries said last week.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
South Korea Uses Sniffer Dog To Search For Bedbugs After Paris Olympics South Korean YouTuber Makes Late-Term Abortion Video, Faces Police Probe North Korea Is Launching More Trash-Filled Balloons Southward: South Korea Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Two Sisters Returning From Court Run Over By Car In UP: Cops India Sends 1,400 kg Anti-Cancer Drugs To Syria In Humanitarian Assistance Police Arrest Suspect In Bihar Dalit Girl Kidnapping, Murder Case Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.