N Korea: To Respond for Any Shell on Our Territories

North Korea threatened the US and South Korea over joint naval drills taking place this week in tense Yellow Sea waters ahead of a Washington summit by the allies’ leaders.

The North’s Korean People’s Army warning Tuesday was highly conditional. It said it will hit back if any shells fall in its territory. Should the allies respond to that, Pyongyang’s military vows to strike five South Korean frontline islands.

This language is standard, it comes at a time of tentative diplomatic maneuvering. Pyongyang somewhat eased a tirade of threats aimed at larger-scale military drills by the allies that ended April 30.
Seoul calls its drills routine but Pyongyang calls them invasion preparation.
Both countries claim frontline Yellow Sea waters as their own. Their navies have regularly clashed.

Hours earlier, a US official revealed that North Korea has withdrawn two mobile ballistic missiles from a launch site in the eastern part of the country, the latest hint of an easing in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The disclosure came Monday, the day before President Barack Obama is due to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, in Washington.

It is expected that Obama will use Park’s visit to “reaffirm the strong US commitment” to the defense of South Korea.