iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The oil and gas conglomerate and Fifa, the world governing body, sign major sponsorship agreement
KT APPDOWNLOAD
North slams use of its flag in US-S. Korea war games
SEOUL - North Korea has denounced the use of its national flag as a target during US-South Korean war games as a “grave provocative act” and vowed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent.
South Korea said the flag was used for the first time in such an exercise to demonstrate determination to hit back at any cross-border aggression.
Some 2,000 South Korean and US troops along with jet fighters, tanks and attack helicopters took part in Friday’s exercise to test responses to any assault, amid high tensions on the peninsula.
The allies’ largest single-day joint live-fire exercise was timed to mark the 62nd anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 25. The two sides are also staging a major three-day naval drill in the Yellow Sea involving a US aircraft carrier battle group.
It was unclear whether the flag was hit during the drill.
But the North’s foreign ministry said late on Sunday the use of its emblem was the “most vivid expression” of US hostility.
“It is an extremely grave military action and politically-motivated provocation to fire live bullets and shells at the flag of a sovereign state without a declaration of war,” it said in a statement on official media.
The South’s defence ministry said the flag symbolised the North’s command post and was used for the first time in such live-fire drills. “We used it to show our determination to strongly respond to any provocations by North Korea,” a spokesman told. Tensions spiked in 2010 after the South accused the North of sinking one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives. The North denied that attack but shelled a South Korean border island in November 2010, killing four people. Two months ago the North launched a long-range rocket in what was seen by the United States and its allies as a ballistic missile test.
The United Nations condemned the failed launch and tightened sanctions.
More news from
Toomaj Salehi risks being hanged after the conviction on the Shariah charge of "corruption on Earth" by a Revolutionary Court
Aid groups warn any invasion would add to already-catastrophic conditions for Gaza's 2.4 million people
The American they will face Australia and Serbia on July 15 and July 17 as part of their preparation for the Paris Olympic Games
The leaders emphasise that the deal to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza
Dubai-based Sumit Augustine has had a philosophical approach towards spending
The regional upswing also defies oil production cutbacks
It's a treatise that would determine the course of your life, not just academically, but as a person too
