North Korea: Mass rallies against US, warns of nuclear war

North Korea held mass rallies in Pyongyang where people shouted slogans vowing a “war of revenge” to destroy the United States, as it marked the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, state media reported on Monday.

More than 120,000 people participated in Sunday’s mass rallies in Pyongyang, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Unverified photos released by state media showed a stadium crowded with people holding placards with messages such as “The whole US mainland is within our shooting range”.

The anniversary came amid concerns Pyongyang could soon conduct another launch of its first military spy satellite to boost monitoring of U.S. military activities after its first attempt ended in failure on 31 May.

North Korea now has “the strongest absolute weapon to punish the US imperialists” and the “avengers on this land are burning with the indomitable will to revenge the enemy”, KCNA said.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has been testing various weapons including its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile.

In a separate foreign ministry report, North Korea said the US was “making desperate efforts to ignite a nuclear war,” accusing Washington of sending strategic assets to the region.

North and South Korea remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty.