NKorea taking aim at southern neighbor

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) – North Korea revealed Wednesday that its ballistic missile tests this week were part of preparations to attack South Korea.

The South’s military observed three North Korean projectiles travel up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) into open water east of the peninsula a day earlier -- in defiance of several United Nations resolutions barring Pyongyang from developing ballistic missile technology.

State-run media outlets left little doubt that Tuesday’s launches were aimed at South Korea, who upset the North this month when announcing plans to deploy a powerful American missile defense system known as THAAD.

“The drill was conducted by limiting the firing range under the simulated conditions of making pre-emptive strikes at ports and airfields in the operational theater in South Korea, where the U.S. imperialists' nuclear war hardware is to be hurled,” Pyongyang’s KCNA news agency stated.

North Korean newspaper the Rodong Sinmun also published photos of the authoritarian state’s leader Kim Jong-un overseeing proceedings while surrounded by maps of both Koreas and apparent targets in the South.

But a statement from the North’s Korean People's Army warned that it would first strike U.S. forces based in South Korea -- nearly 30,000 American military personnel are stationed at various locations on the peninsula.

Seoul and Washington renewed their vows Tuesday to continue pressuring Pyongyang into denuclearizing in line with strengthened U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea in March.