A North Korean official has warned that South Korea will become a "decisive target of collective punishment" in response to comments by the commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) describing Seoul as a "decisive center for collective defense." Kang Chol-su, a section chief at North Korea's Institute of Enemy State Studies, issued the statement through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, accusing Washington of using South Korea as a base for pursuing global dominance and dragging it into an "aggressive" collective defense framework. The threat underscores rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang pushes back against deepening US-South Korea military cooperation.