Asia-Pacific

North Korea: Almost 800,000 sign up to fight against US, claims state newspaper

Claim comes after country launched intercontinental missile in response to ongoing US-South Korea military drills

People watch a television news screen showing North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un witnessing the recent test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, at a railway station in Seoul on March 17th. Photograph: Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty

Sat Mar 18 2023 - 09:06

North Korea claims that about 800,000 of its citizens volunteered to join or re-enlist in the nation’s military to fight against the United States, North Korea’s state newspaper reported on Saturday.

About 800,000 students and workers, on Friday alone, across the country expressed a desire to enlist or re-enlist in the military to counter the United States, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported.

“The soaring enthusiasm of young people to join the army is a demonstration of the unshakeable will of the younger generation to mercilessly wipe out the war maniacs making last-ditch efforts to eliminate our precious socialist country, and achieve the great cause of national reunification without fail and a clear manifestation of their ardent patriotism,” the North's Rodong Sinmun said.

North Korea’s claim came after the country on Thursday launched its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in response to ongoing US-South Korea military drills.

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North Korea fired the ICBM into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Thursday, hours before South Korea's president flew to Tokyo for a summit that discussed ways to counter the nuclear-armed North.

The North's ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions and the launch drew condemnation from governments in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

South Korean and American forces began 11 days of joint drills, dubbed Freedom Shield 23, on Monday, held on a scale not seen since 2017 to counter the North’s growing threats.

Kim accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with the military drills. – Reuters

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023

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