WEB DESK
North Korea remained defiant on Sunday, with the ruling parties newspaper publishing a commentary likening the US aircraft carrier to a “gross animal” and threatening to strike it, even as Japanese navy destroyers Samidare and Ashigara have joined a US carrier strike group for drills in the western Pacific Ocean. North Korea said it was prepared to hit back if necessary.
“Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a US nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike,” the “Rodong Sinmun” newspaper said.
A spokesperson for the USS Carl Vinson posted on its Facebook page on Sunday that the strategic maneuvers and communication drills would last several days.
“We always look forward to operating with our Japanese partners,” the carrier strike group’s commander Rear Admiral Jim Kilby, was quoted as saying. “The relationship between the JMSDF [Japanese self defense force] and the United States is better than ever and it’s in part thanks to these bilateral exercises.”