The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Sunday that South Korea will have to pay a "dear price" for sending propaganda leaflets across the border the previous day.
NATO and Europe are crying hoarse about North Korean troops being deployed in Russia. According to the Pentagon, about 10,000 North Korean troops are ready to be deployed in the war zone, most of whom are undergoing training in Russia. This would imply strength of about one division.
Guided by Kim, North Korea carried out a "crucial" missile test that set milestones in "perpetuating the absolute superiority" of the country's armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Russia said on Monday it will continue its cooperation with North Korea but declined to comment on allegations that it plans to use North Korean soldiers in military operations against Ukraine.
The defence ministry's stance was echoed by the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Sunday.
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February ended without a deal.
Choe's remarks come after Pompeo on Tuesday said in a speech to American veterans that the North's "rogue behaviour could not be ignored" and the US has "galvanized global support to denuclearize North Korea".
"The test-fire proved that all the tactical and technological specifications of the system correctly reached the preset indexes."
Saturday's firings marked the seventh round of such launches since July 25 when the North broke a 17-month hiatus and started firing missiles and projectiles to test new weapons and protest the South-US joint military exercise that it has long denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.
The trilateral tension between the US, China and Russia will almost certainly escalate as it has over a welter of other issues.
