N. Korea accuses US of activating Asian version of NATO

North Korea on Tuesday accused the US of trying to form an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) through a US-Japan-South Korea military alliance.

The official daily Rodong Sinmun (Labor News) said the US-Japan-South Korea triangular military alliance had "reached the phase of full-scale activation", Xinhua news agency reported.

"The US aggressor forces, the 'Self-Defense Forces' of Japan and the South Korean puppet army recently conducted a large-scale drill for intercepting missiles from the DPRK," it said.

"The US is claiming the drill and the naval joint drill with Japan are independent of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military drills. But this is no more than a lame excuse," it said.

The daily claimed that the missile intercepting drill is directly related to the drill being staged under the simulated conditions of executing "Operation 4D" and deploying Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), "the key phase of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle."

"The same can be said of the joint drill conducted by a US nuclear aircraft carrier task force and warships of the Japan Self Defence Forces," it said.

The US and South Korea have been conducting a large scale joint military exercise "Foal Eagle", which was condemned by Pyongyang as aimed at staging precision strikes against targets in North Korea.

--IANS

py/dg