North Korea Threatens Pre-Emptive Attack

North Korea says it has the right to launch a pre-emptive strike against South Korean forces because the two countries are technically still at war. The comments were sparked by North Korea’s anger over the annual joint South Korean-U.S. military exercises, which Pyongyang says are a preparation for an invasion of its territory.A North Korea People's Army (KPA) spokesman says distrust is high between the United States and North Korea. The official state news agency reports North Korea "will never remain a passive onlooker to the U.S. pre-emptive attack on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)." Because no treaty was signed following the 1950-1953 Korean War, the two Koreas are technically still at war. There are currently about 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea in support of some 690,000 South Korean troops. The North has about 1.2 million troops.