North Korea warns South Korea would be 'decisive target' if it becomes US defense hub

In a KCNA commentary, Kang Chol Su, described as a department director at the Institute for Enemy State Studies, accused Washington of turning its ally South Korea into a base for pursuing global hegemony and using it as a platform to deploy first in overseas conflicts. Kang cited remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea portraying South Korea as a key center of collective defense and criticized joint drills and US deployments.

The commentary stated that Pyongyang had prepared countermeasures and would ruthlessly crush challenges to its security. US Forces Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States stations about 28,500 military personnel in South Korea to help deter aggression from North Korea.