North Korea has threatened its own pre-emptive strikes in response to recent drills for "decapitation" strikes by U.S. and South Korean special operations forces aimed at taking out the leadership in Pyongyang.
The simulated strikes reportedly targeted the upper echelons of the North Korean regime, including leader Kim Jong Un, as well as key nuclear sites. They also involved the participation of the U.S. Navy's Seal Team 6 — the outfit famed for killing al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, the Asahi Shimbun reported earlier this month. Media reports said a number of U.S. special operations forces also participated, including U.S. Army Rangers, Delta Force and Green Berets.
In a statement released Sunday by the Korean People's Army (KPA), a spokesman said the "madcap joint military drills" would be met with the North's "own style of special operation and pre-emptive attack," which it said could come "without prior warning any time."