SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Saturday accused the United States of being responsible for what it sees as a breakdown of international arms control systems and said its nuclear weapons were a just response to ensure peace. balance of forces in the region.
“The Korean Peninsula is becoming the biggest powder keg and war training ground in the world due to a military expansion plan led by the United States and its supporters,” the official said. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a comment picked up by the national news agency KCNA.
Recent moves by South Korea and Japan show that the military buildup by the United States and its supporters is crossing a dangerous line and this cannot be tolerated, he added.
The comments follow the announcement on Friday by the United States and South Korea of their intention to conduct large-scale military exercises from March 13 to 23 to strengthen the defensive posture of allies, including by focusing on this what they call the North Korean aggression.
North Korea considers these joint military exercises proof that the United States and its allies are hostile and determined to change the regime in the North.
(Report Jihoon Lee, French version Benjamin Mallet)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.