'US plotting pre-emptive strike'

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) criticized the US yesterday for positioning missile defense systems around Hawaii, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation.

US ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawaii amid concerns that DPRK may fire a long-range missile toward the islands.

"Through the US forces' clamorous movements, it has been brought to light that the US attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike on our republic has become a brutal fact," DPRK's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.