- Title: Pyongyang also considering preemptive attacks- NK official
- Date: 17th April 2017
- Summary: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (APRIL 17, 2017) (REUTERS) PYONGYANG SKYLINE STREET AND BUILDING IN PYONGYANG DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, BEING INTERVIEWED JOURNALIST'S NOTEBOOK (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, SAYING: "Put yourself in our situation, if an attacker comes to your house and threatens your family members, there's no one who's just going to sit there with his arms folded back." PIN WITH PORTRAIT OF KIM IL SUNG (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, SAYING: "We've made it clear that the preemptive strike is not the executive property of the United States." KOREAN FLAGS ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, SAYING: "If a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula, the responsibility will fall completely on the United States because they have been organising war games on this land, so it doesn't matter who carries out the preemptive strike." PORTRAITS OF KIM JONG IL AND KIM IL SUNG ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, SAYING: "If we get notice of a preemptive attack, in a word - it's confirmed- then we will do a preemptive attack, we will be compelled to do so." KIM SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KIM SON GYONG, SAYING: "We are not startled or surprised in the slightest by this kind of act (the U.S. bombing of Syria), if they think this kind of thing will startle us then they have misjudged." VARIOUS OF PYONGYANG SKYLINE
- Embargoed: 1st May 2017 16:49
- Keywords: North Korea United States preemtive strike nuclear tests missiles Kim Son Gyong
- Location: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA
- City: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA
- Country: North Korea
- Reuters ID: LVA0016CSDTTZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pyongyang is also considering preemptive attacks on the U.S., a North Korean ministry of foreign affairs official said on Monday (April 17), adding that if the U.S. Intended for the Syria strike to send a message, it failed.
North Korea has conducted several missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions and said it has developed a missile that can strike the U.S. mainland. Its latest missile test on Sunday (April 16) failed a few seconds after launch.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence put North Korea on notice on Monday, warning that recent U.S. strikes in Syria, one of North Korea's few close allies, and Afghanistan showed that the resolve of President Donald Trump should not be tested. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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