North Korea releases video of simulated attack on Seoul

SEOUL, April 5 (UPI) -- North Korea released a video of a simulated attack on Seoul, less than two weeks after the country produced a film showing an imaginary nuclear attack on Washington, D.C.

The video was published Monday on the website DPRK Today, Newsweek reported.

Titled, "If the ultimatum goes unanswered," the computer-generated images show missiles fired from road-mobile launchers, which then destroy key buildings in Seoul, including the presidential Blue House.

In previous statements, North Korea had said the Blue House should be destroyed and did not rule out the assassination of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

The video included dated archival footage of North Korean soldiers riding on tanks as guns are fired, Yonhap reported.

The footage ends with the dramatic statement, "Everything will turn into ashes."

In late March, North Korea had released a video showing a similar attack on Washington. The U.S. capital is depicted as being destroyed by a submarine-launched nuclear missile.

The messages appear to be correlated with the ongoing joint military exercises involving U.S. and South Korean troops.

The drills are held annually in the spring and often draw a strong reaction from North Korea's media outlets, although data analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicate North Korea's responses to joint drills are more driven by the status of U.S.-North Korea relations in the period.

North Korea's provocative films contradict a statement issued by the National Defense Commission, which called for an end to hostilities through "negotiations."

"Maintaining stability is more urgent than unilateral sanctions, and providing negotiations can find a better solution than reckless military pressure," North Korea had said in the statement.