HAVANA - North Korea's ambassador to Cuba said Aug. 28 that, if attacked, his country would respond with nuclear weapons and engage in a "sacred war," Cuban state media reported.
Kwon Sung Chol, quoted by the Prensa Latina government agency, spoke at an event late Aug. 27 marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Cuba and North Korea.If North Korea is attacked by U.S. and South Korean forces, "we will respond with a sacred war based on the strength of our nuclear deterrent forces," Kwon said.
"Our government will make an effort towards the denuclearization of the peninsula and the establishment of a system of lasting peace based on the principle of the reunification of both Koreas," Kwon said, according to Prensa Latina.
North Korea on July 24 threatened a "powerful nuclear deterrence" in response to joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercises then taking place.
North Korea was prepared for a "retaliatory sacred war," North Korea's National Defense Commission (NDC) said in a statement carried then by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).