North Korea criticises US deployment of nuclear assets in South Korea

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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s defence ministry denounced the United States’ deployment of nuclear strategic assets in South Korea, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday, as Seoul was gearing up for a rare military parade marking Armed Forces Day.

Kim Kang Il, North Korea’s vice defence minister, accused Washington of running a “reckless military bluff” and stoking tension by sending a nuclear-powered submarine recently to South Korea and again flying a B-1B bomber for the planned parade.

South Korean media have reported a B-1B bomber will join the parade set for Tuesday afternoon, flying over Seoul alongside allied fighter jets and other aircraft.

South Korea’s military and U.S. Forces Korea have not confirmed the bomber’s participation, but Seoul’s defence ministry said the parade was partly intended to show off its military might as a deterrent to the North.

Kim said the U.S. show of force highlighted its strategic disadvantage on the Korean peninsula over North Korea, as well as South Korea’s “chronic nuclear phobia.” He called for fresh measures in response.

“We can examine such fresh action plans any time and carry them out,” he said, vowing to continue improving the country’s “powerful war deterrent,” according to KCNA.

Last week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticised the presence of a U.S. nuclear submarine in South Korea, which docked at the port city of Busan to get supplies and allow crew members to rest.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Jamie Freed)