North Korea has intensified its criticism of the United States and Western nations, issuing a series of statements denouncing their policies.
On February 20, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a commentary strongly condemning Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines, calling it “another nuclear alliance.”
“The United States, having received hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars from Australia under the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, is now moving to provide the country with Virginia-class nuclear submarines,” KCNA reported. “This signifies the full-scale activation of yet another nuclear alliance centered around the U.S.”
KCNA further argued that the United States’ “nuclear muscle-flexing” in the Asia-Pacific region “will never succeed.”
The report also claimed that the AUKUS alliance, combined with the trilateral security partnership between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, would allow the United States to establish a multi-layered nuclear encirclement strategy.
“The formation of an additional nuclear alliance under the framework of AUKUS, alongside the existing U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral nuclear alliance, enables the United States to strengthen its nuclear encirclement in multiple layers,” the report stated.
North Korea also warned Washington to “carefully consider the consequences”
of its military adventurism.
Since the inauguration of Donald Trump’s administration, North Korea has repeatedly issued statements condemning the U.S. while emphasizing its commitment to strengthening its nuclear capabilities.
Pyongyang has continued to justify its military build-up as a necessary response to what it perceives as growing threats from the United States and its allies. With its latest denunciation of AUKUS, North Korea signals its firm opposition to any expansion of U.S.-led security frameworks in the region.
BY Mooyoung Lee [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]
