By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea criticized a new U.S. strategy on countering weapons of mass destruction for describing the reclusive state as among those it considers a “persistent threat,” KCNA media reported on Wednesday.
In a statement, a spokesperson for North Korea’s defence ministry accused the U.S. of increasing nuclear threats, citing joint military drills with South Korea and sending a strategic nuclear submarine, the state-run KCNA report said.
The spokesperson also criticized the U.S. military’s Sept. 28 strategy statement for its descriptions of China as the “pacing challenge” and Russia as an “acute threat”. North Korea said it was “political provocation” against independent sovereign states.
The U.S. Department of Defense’s unclassified version of its “2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction” said “North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations remain persistent threats as they continue to further pursue and develop WMD capabilities”.
The North Korean military will counter the U.S. military strategy with the “most overwhelming and sustained response strategy,” the spokesperson said, citing an addition to the country’s law.
North Korea last week adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force as leader Kim Jong Un pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he called U.S. provocations, according to state media.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Grant McCool)
