SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean official media on Friday criticized France’s “outdated gunboat policy” after deploying a patrol plane in the waters bordering the peninsula.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced earlier this week that France would monitor illicit maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers by North Korean-flagged vessels, using planes from Futenma Air Base. located on the island of Okinawa, Japan.
This decision represents an “outdated gunboat policy,” said Ryu Kyong-chol, a researcher at the North Korean Korea-Europe Association, in a statement released by official media.
He also called on France to stop “dangerous actions” that threaten peace in the region.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that this was the fourth time such operations had taken place since 2019.
(Report by Hyunsu Yim; French version by Camille Raynaud)
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