A spokesman for the delegation of the DPRK's side for the north-south general-level military talks gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA on May 8 as regards a litany of rhetoric let loose by south Korean military authorities over the recent reasonable strike drill of the Korean People's Army:

As already reported, there took place the strike drill of the defence units of the KPA in the frontline area and on the eastern front in the East Sea of Korea on May 4.

The drill designed to estimate regular combat readiness is out of the question as it was conducted within the territorial waters of the DPRK according to the KPA’s plan for routine drill.

That's why the US and Japan as well as the international community said that the recent strike drill was not "breach of the promise" as the firing of the intermediate-and long-range missile and the ICBM was not involved in it.

It was recognized that the flying objects launched in the drill did not pose any threat to the US, south Korea, Japan and others as they dropped in the KPA-controlled waters northeast of the East Sea of Korea.

We could not but be surprised at a cock-and-bull story from south Korea.

From May 7, the south Korean military have let their spokesman claim that the "drill is contrary to the purport of the military agreement reached by the north and the south and it is a drill for real war that causes military tension and the south Korean military presses for a stop to acts of escalating tension".

Although someone says this or that in a bid to slander the DPRK under the unreasonable pretexts, the south Korean military have no qualification to vilify the DPRK and the north-south military agreement, in particular.

They staged a provocative combined air drill against the sovereign state together with the US by mobilizing a lot of flying corps for two weeks and allowed the ground for their master's drill for deploying THAAD and kept mum about the US launch of Minuteman to threaten the DPRK, but they pointed a finger of scorn at the fellow countrymen.

There is a saying that he that has no shame has no conscience. The south Korean military pretend to be ignorant of what they did, but they are slandering our regular drill. We query very much whether they have the face to slander it.

The south Korean military regard the combined air drill they staged together with the US and the US intercontinental ballistic missile as an acrobatic flight and fireworks, whereas the tactical guided weapon of the fellow countrymen as a bolt from the blue.

We are concerned about the weak nerve of the south Korean military responding abnormally to the regular drill of our army.

The response vividly shows how they are afraid of our army.

They were astonished by the recent strike drill. They might fall into a swoon to see a strike drill involving more powerful cutting-edge weapons.

The south Korean authorities would be well-advised to see what they approved together with us in the north-south military agreement rather than claiming that the strike drill "runs counter to the purport of the agreement" and to reflect on what they did.

The close examination of the military agreement will make them feel guilty of their provocative acts of perfidy against us and deprive them of the "courage" to take issue with the dialogue partner. And they will be careful in speech. Otherwise, they will be subject to a pelting rain of kicks and blows.

The war-thirsty south Korean military should realize how much their military provocations getting on the nerves of ours invite the hammer blow by our army before wagging their tongue.

They should remember that their double-dealing tactics of concealed hostility, to say nothing of the acts of open hostility challenging the historic north-south declarations and military agreement, rouses bitter denunciation and curses of the whole nation.

As a litany of rhetoric let loose by those who have no qualification to say will be a laughing stock of the world people, they had better hold their tongue.

KCNA