North Korea has issued a chilling threat to Australia, saying support for the US is a ‘suicidal act’.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the threats as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop continued her visit to South Korea on Saturday.
Attributed to a spokesman for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, the statement warns Australia against joining the US and South Korea in putting pressure on their regime.
North Korea has issued a chilling threat to Australia, saying support for the US is a ‘suicidal act’ (pictured is a North Korean missile test)
Attributed to a spokesman for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, the statement warns Australia against joining the US and South Korea in putting pressure on their regime (pictured is the effect a nuclear missile would have on Sydney)
‘Lately, Australia is showing dangerous moves of zealously joining the frenzied political and military provocations of the US against the DPRK,’ said the KCNA.
‘The Australian foreign minister personally expressed her support for the stand of the US to consider all options including the use of force towards the DPRK.
‘[Ms Bishop] turned up at Panmunjom on October 11 together with the Australian defense minister to condemn the DPRK during her visit to South Korea.
‘Besides, turning Australian territory into a front-line base for the US invasion of the DPRK and sending its troops as the “shock brigade” for the war of aggression pursued by the US are tantamount to a suicidal act of bringing back the misery that Australia had gone through during the past Korean War.
Ms Bishop (pictured, right, with Defence Minister Marise Payne) toured the village of Panmunjom which is within the demilitarised zone which separates North and South Korea
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the threats as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (pictured, right, with Defence Minister Marise Payne) continued her visit to South Korea on Saturday
‘Should Australia continue to follow the US in imposing military, economic and diplomatic pressure upon the DPRK despite our repeated warnings, they will not be able to avoid a disaster.’
Ms Bishop toured the village of Panmunjom which is within the demilitarised zone which separates North and South Korea.
Defence Minister Marise Payne joined Ms Bishop to urge North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
Ms Bishop called for a ‘peaceful diplomatic solution’ and said she stood by South Korea and the US in trying to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.
Defence Minister Marise Payne joined Ms Bishop to urge North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests (pictured is a North Korea ballistic missile)
Ms Bishop (picture, second left with Marise Payne and South Korean counterparts) called for a ‘peaceful diplomatic solution’ and said she stood by South Korea and the US in trying to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table
The news comes as fears grow North Korea will launch a ballistic missile ahead of planned joint naval drill by the US and South Korea.
Ms Bishop said on Friday South Korean officials were worried Kim Jong-un may launch a missile to ’embarrass’ China during its 19th Communist Party conference.
Now US and South Korean military are concerned a launch will come even earlier, after a flurry of military activity over the past two days.
South Korean newspaper the Donga Ilbo quoting a government source, said satellite pictures show ballistic missiles mounted on launchers being transported out of hangars near Pyongyang and in the North Phyongan Province.
That mission came 17 days after four US F-35B stealth fighter jets and two B-1Bs (pictured) flew over the peninsula
A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying: ‘We don’t comment on any matters of military intelligence’.
‘We are keeping a close watch over the North,’ he added.
The joint drills led by the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier follow hectic US military hardware movements around the Korean peninsula.
On Friday the nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine arrived at the southern South Korean port of Busan.
Ms Bishop (pictured) said on Friday South Korean officials were worried Kim Jong-un may launch a missile to ’embarrass’ China during its 19th Communist Party conference
The vessel arrived just days after another nuclear-powered submarine – the USS Tuscon – left after a five day visit.
Earlier this week the US flew two supersonic heavy bombers over the Korean peninsula, the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea.
That mission came 17 days after four US F-35B stealth fighter jets and two B-1Bs flew over the peninsula.
Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies said it was ‘highly likely’ the North could launch missiles in response to next week’s joint navy drill.
US and South Korean military are concerned a launch will come even earlier, after a flurry of military activity over the past two days (pictured is Julie Bishop, right)
Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies said it was ‘highly likely’ the North could launch missiles in response to next week’s joint navy drill (pictured are Marise Payne, left, and Julie Bishop, second left, meeting with their South Korea counterparts)
US President Donald Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang if it does not tame its weapons ambitions have fuelled fears of conflict on the Korean peninsula.
But military intervention against North Korea would have ‘devastating consequences’, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday, after Trump said diplomatic efforts had failed.
Recent tests show missiles fired by the rouge regime are now capable of hitting northern Australia, and some of the country’s largest cities could even be in range.
Nuclear strikes on Australian cities could cause the instant death of hundreds of thousands of people, according to calculations based on North Korea’s latest weapons.
Almost 150,000 people would die if Sydney was hit, and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge would be destroyed.
US President Donald Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang if it does not tame its weapons ambitions have fuelled fears of conflict on the Korean peninsula (pictured is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un)