NATO condemns Pyongyang’s arms transfers to Russia, expressing ‘grave concern’ about increasing ties.
North Korea on Saturday denounced a NATO summit declaration that condemned its weapons exports to Russia, calling it “illegal” and warned of strong “strategic counteraction.”
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the statement after a NATO summit in Washington concluded where leaders of the 32-member alliance and four Indo-Pacific partners — South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — discussed concerns about growing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The declaration that was issued Wednesday stressed that North Korea’s export of artillery shells and ballistic missiles to Russia violates numerous UN Security Council resolutions.
NATO also expressed “great concern” about the deepening partnership between North Korea and Russia.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesperson said the declaration incites a new Cold War and military confrontation, Yonhap News reported.
He said that the situation requires a new strategy to counter US attempts to expand its military alliances.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) vowed to deter aggression and defend peace with stronger strategic counteractions, according to the statement.
According to a report, North Korea bristled Saturday at this week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit declaration that condemned its weapons exports to Russia, casting it as an “illegal” document and warning of strong “strategic counteraction.”
A spokesperson of the North’s foreign ministry issued the statement following this week’s NATO summit in Washington, where the leaders of the 32-member alliance and its four Indo-Pacific partners — South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — shared concerns over a deepening military alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow.
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On Wednesday, NATO leaders released the declaration, in which they “strongly” condemned the North’s arms exports to Russia and voiced “great concern” over the two countries’ deepening partnership.
“The DPRK Foreign Ministry most strongly denounces and rejects the ‘declaration,’ an illegal document that violates the legitimate rights of independent sovereign states and a confrontational program that incites a new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale,” the spokesperson said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The spokesperson warned of strong counteraction, claiming that the prevailing situation requires a “new force and mode of counteraction to foil the U.S. attempt for (an) expanded military bloc.”
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will never overlook or avoid the looming grave threat but thoroughly deter the aggression and war threat with stronger level of strategic counteraction and defend peace and security in the region and the rest of the world,” the official said.
In the summit declaration, the leaders stressed that the North’s exports of artillery shells and ballistic missiles to Russia are in violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions.
