North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol: North Korea stands ready to counteract menaces from the US and South Korea.
North Korean Defense Chief No Kwang-chol proclaimed “further aggressive measures,” while denouncing US security discussions with Seoul.
Reuters conveys this information.
Kwang Chol, however, took issue with the recent visit by the American and South Korean defense heads to the North-South Korean boundary, along with their subsequent security conversations in Seoul, asserting the two nations were plotting to bolster deterrence against Pyongyang and fuse nuclear and traditional forces.
“This represents a distinct signal and overt display of their adversarial disposition to resist the DPRK until the end,” No remarked.
He further stated that the US nuclear-powered warship George Washington’s arrival at the southeastern port city of Busan in South Korea this week, following joint US air maneuvers with Seoul, had intensified tensions on the peninsula.
“We will exhibit additional proactive actions against the enemy menace, guided by the principle of assuring security and safeguarding peace via formidable power,” No appended.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth articulated on Tuesday, November 4, that the primary aim of the U.S. alliance with Seoul will persist in containing North Korea, even though Washington will contemplate granting American soldiers stationed in South Korea expanded latitude to oppose regional dangers.
The preceding day, North Korea launched a ballistic projectile into the sea off its eastern seaboard, and on Thursday, November 6, criticized fresh US sanctions targeting North Korean citizens and entities that Washington alleges are implicated in cyber-money laundering operations. South Korea's Defense Ministry censured the North Korean missile launch and deemed Pyongyang's critique of the US-Seoul talks “unfortunate.”
During his South Korea visit last week, US President Donald Trump restated his eagerness to engage in dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The summit did not transpire, but Trump voiced his readiness to revisit the region to confer with Kim.
In the past week, North Korea also examined cruise missiles on the western Korean Peninsula, concurrently with Trump and other leaders convening in South Korea for regional assemblies.
Could North Korea evolve into a pivotal confederate for the Kremlin in its confrontation with the West, and will Pyongyang aid China in the struggle for Taiwan? Natalia Butyrskaya scrutinizes all this in her piece, “Will North Korea Become the Kremlin's Backbone in the War Against NATO?”
