North Korea has denounced a declaration at a recent NATO summit that condemned Pyongyang’s alleged weapons exports to Russia.
In the joint declaration issued on Wednesday, the NATO leaders claimed that North Korea and Iran were fuelling Russia’s military operation against Ukraine by providing direct military support to Russia.
The NATO leaders said supplying arms and ammunition to Russia has impacted Euro-Atlantic security and undermined the global non-proliferation regime.
The joint declaration also criticized China’s alleged support to Russia, voicing “profound concern” in this regard.
North Korea’s foreign ministry slammed NATO’s move, calling the joint declaration an “illegal” action. Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday that the foreign ministry “most strongly denounces and rejects” the declaration.
It “incites new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale”, and requires “a new force and mode of counteraction,” the ministry added.
Meanwhile, US ally South Korea is pushing for stronger cooperation with NATO countries.
South Korea’s presidential office said this week that Seoul and Washington aim to continue joint military drills, formalizing the deployment of US nuclear assets on and around the Korean peninsula.
China, for its part, has urged NATO to avoid “causing chaos” in the Asia-Pacific region.
“NATO should adhere to its positioning as a regional defensive organization, stop creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stop promoting Cold War mentality and bloc confrontations,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian warned Monday.
The warning from China came before NATO’s summit in the United States attended by leaders from Asia-Pacific countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.