PYONGYANG: North Korea will enhance its military deterrent to ensure its security against a US nuclear arsenal aimed at it, its state media reported on Friday, as it criticized the United States for a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.
The US Air Force conducted a test of a nuclear-capable Minuteman III missile from a base in California on Wednesday but the missile was blown up after an anomaly was detected. The test was attended by South Korean defence officials in their first such visit since 2016.
A North Korean military commentator, in response to the test’s failure, asserted that the presence of South Korean representatives implied that US nuclear weapons were aimed at North Korea, referring to them as “puppet military gangsters.”
The commentator, whose identity remains undisclosed, emphasized that North Korea would persist in its military efforts to bolster its deterrence and ensure the strategic security of the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding region. This report was disseminated by the KCNA state news agency, using the country’s official initials, DPRK, which stand for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea media urges stronger nuclear force after U.S. missile test https://t.co/pxf1ePXiBQ pic.twitter.com/XSVaDMPKNI
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) November 3, 2023
The commentary also expressed criticism of the United States and South Korea for a series of recent military actions, including the deployment of US nuclear strategic bombers to South Korea. The North Korean commentator characterized the nuclear threat posed by the United States and its allies as approaching a critical threshold and called for the reinforcement of “self-defensive nuclear armed forces.”
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, responsible for inter-Korean affairs, raised concerns about whether North Korea might be preparing for another military “provocation.” A spokesperson for the ministry, Kim In-ae, emphasized that the heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula were a result of North Korea’s futile nuclear development and provocative military actions.
Recent joint exercises between South Korea, the United States, and Japan near the Korean Peninsula were mentioned, featuring a US B-52 strategic bomber and fighter jets from all three nations. Additionally, air exercises involving 130 warplanes from the US and South Korea were conducted last month to simulate 24-hour wartime operations.
Both South Korea and the United States asserted that these exercises were aimed at maintaining readiness to respond to potential threats from North Korea, while North Korea, in contrast, condemned them as preparations for an invasion by the United States and its South Korean ally.
