(Image source: Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Army, Staff Sgt. Bryanna Poulin ) BY NICHOLE CARTMELL Another threat out of North Korea in the ongoing series of military muscle-flexing as the U.S. and South Korea continue conducting exercises. The target of this latest threat — U.S. air bases on nearby Guam and Okinawa. The North is using new, increasingly aggressive language in response to recent U.S. preemptive strategies. A spokesman for the Korean People’s Army said in a statement the U.S. should not forget that these bases are within DPRK’s striking range.  “Now that the U.S. started open nuclear blackmail and threats, the DPRK, too, will move to take corresponding military actions.”  (Via North Korean TV ) This comes after what The New York Times is calling a “rare action.” The Pentagon publicly announced training missions by American B-52 bombers over the Korean Peninsula. The stated goal:  To reiterate the United States’ support for South Korea and Japan during a time when the North’s actions are gaining traction. ( Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Air Force ) North Korea is calling the U.S. military missions an “unpardonable provocation,” especially as contention between the two countries continues to grow. The Korean Central News Agency blames the U.S calling it the “arch criminal” and threatening... “Should the U.S. imperialists intrude into the territorial waters, air and land of DPRK even 0.001mm, its armed forces and people will annihilate the aggressors with strong retaliatory strikes and achieve the final victory in the long-standing showdown with the U.S.” Other countries are worried about the language of the threats. Sky News reports the U.K. government says it “... takes any threats seriously and there is some concern over the more harsh rhetoric coming from the DPRK.” And while these threats are not new, a former director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council highlights the abnormal backdrop for this situation. “ … about a year of very unpredictable behavior by a new leadership, and a sequence of provocations that is more concentrated … than we have seen in the last 20 years … this is a little bit different – and more concerning.” (Via CNN ) Concerning enough, the former director says he fears an attack on South Korea by the North could come soon. Since 1992, the North has engaged in a military provocation soon after a South Korean presidential inauguration. South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hee, began her term February 25.