N Korean military vows to bolster 'retaliatory means'

North Korea's army chief warned yesterday that the communist country would bolster unspecified "retaliatory means" to counter an alleged pre-emptive attack by the United States.
The warning was issued by Kim Kyok-Sik, chief of the army's General Staff, at a meeting to mark the 47th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-Il's start of Songun (army-first) leadership.
The North will "further round off the retaliatory means powerful enough to counter the US nuclear attack and pre-emptive strike" if the US continues putting pressure on Pyongyang, the army chief said.
"A tense situation is still prevailing on the Korean peninsula due to the US persistent hostile policy towards the DPRK (North Korea)," he said in a statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency.
It was the latest of warnings, which have been issued by North Korea since a joint US-South Korea military exercise began on August 20, involving some 10,000 US troops over 12 days.