N. Korean official says S. Korea to become target of 'collective punishment'

North Korea on Friday condemned a recent remark made by the top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) that South Korea plays a decisive center for collective defense, noting Seoul will instead become a target of punishment. The statement came from Kang Chol-su, section chief of North Korea's Institute of Enemy State Studies, in a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In the statement, Kang said the U.S. is "openly revealing its gangster-like nature" to use South Korea as Washington's "key base for implementing its hegemonic strategy and as its mercenaries in the regional conflict." "(U.S. Forces Korea Commander Xavier Brunson) talked about the redesigning of the security of the Korean peninsula, stressing the need for the ROK and the U.S. to jointly cope with the threat from outside the Korean peninsula," Kang said. The ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. "This is a clearer manifestation of the attempt to completely discard the deceptive veil of 'defense of the ROK,' which has so far been used as the justification for the existenc