North Korea army vows 'merciless' response to USA provocation

A senior North Korean government official says the country is ready to stand up to any threat posed by the United States as he spoke at an huge parade celebrating the birthday of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. This would allow North Korea to prevent its limited number of ICBM-capable TELs from being damaged during launch and also make the missiles harder to detect after they're fired, he said.

War rhetoric has intensified and tensions have mounted between the USA and North Korea in the past few days as Pyongyang readies for yet another nuclear weapons test and the Trump administration awaits developments after warning that something would be done if North Korea continued its pursuit of increasing its nuclear weapons arsenal. In a 40-minute interview, Han Song Ryol blamed the US for the escalation toward military confrontation, pinpointing President Donald Trump's "aggressive tweets" and America "making trouble" in the region.

"The closer such big targets as nuclear powered aircraft carriers come (to the Korean peninsula), the greater would be the effect of merciless strikes", the statement added.

Sunday's launch was carried out around dawn from Sinpo, a site on North Korea's east coast where it has a shipyard.

Earlier Friday, North Korea's Vice Minister Han Song Ryol told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that his country will keep building up its nuclear arsenal in "quality and quantity" and said Pyongyang is ready to go to war if that's what President Donald Trump wants.

North Korea's goal is a long-range nuclear missile that can strike the continental United States. Also on display was a powerful midrange missile that can potentially reach us air bases in Guam, which outside analysts call a "Musudan", as well as a new solid-fuel midrange missile that can be fired from land mobile launchers, making them harder to detect before launch.

On Thursday the U.S. military dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb it possesses on Afghanistan, targeting a complex used by the Islamic State group. "Now the Trump administration is thinking about several options as regards the DPRK". (English - ) "I'm also sure that the missiles are not ready yet, but it doesn't matter".

North Korea has a history of marking significant dates with shows of military capability, and it was its ICBMs that were most notable on the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung.

The show of strength comes amid mounting tension, with a USA aircraft carrier group steaming towards the region.

"Once a war really happens, the result will be nothing but multiple-loss". Under any circumstances, Wang said, China was consistently opposed to words and action that aggravate tensions.

Relations between the USA and North Korea have deteriorated since before Trump was president, especially after what appeared to be the then president-elect's mocking of the DPRK's nuclear ballistic missile tests. "If a war actually occurs, no one will be the victor", Wang said.

The festivities take place amid concerns that North Korea is possibly preparing its sixth nuclear test in a decade or a rocket launch of significance, such as its first flight test of an ICBM.

Military experts generally agree a shooting war with North Korea would likely be far more costly than something along the lines of the recent targeted strike Trump ordered against a Syrian air base believed to be linked to a chemical weapons attack by the regime of Bashar Assad.

Kim, a 30-something leader who took power in late 2011, emphasizes nuclear weapons as the foundation of his national defense strategy.