North Korea raises specter of nuclear strike over US aircraft carrier’s arrival in South Korea

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is lashing out at the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in South Korea, calling it a provocation and again raising the specter of using nuclear weapons to defend itself. The North’s state media issued that threat Friday, citing its escalatory nuclear doctrine. A day earlier, the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived at South Korea’s southeastern port of Busan following a U.S.-South Korean-Japanese naval exercise in international waters earlier this week. Emboldened by its advancing nuclear arsenal, North Korea has increasingly issued threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively. But the North is still outgunned by U.S. and South Korean forces, and experts say it is unlikely to use its nukes first.