The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced on Saturday that it is strengthening its self-defensive capabilities to deter provocative attempts by rivals and ensure national security. A statement from the chief of the policy office of the DPRK’s defense ministry emphasized that developing strategic armed forces is essential for maintaining the security of the state and balancing power in the region.
The move comes in response to a recent visit by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine to the Korean Peninsula and plans by the U.S. and South Korean militaries to conduct a large-scale war drill. The DPRK official criticized these actions as justifications for bolstering its own defense capabilities.
“It is the just self-defensive right of a sovereign state to steadily develop the self-defense capability capable of effectively containing all security threats,” the official stated, as cited by the Korean Central News Agency.
The DPRK accused the United States of escalating regional tensions through reckless arms buildups and modernization of its nuclear forces. The official rejected U.S. claims that the DPRK poses a threat to the U.S. mainland with its intercontinental ballistic missiles, labeling such assertions as “a brigandish sophism like a guilty party filing the suit first.”
Expressing serious concern over what it sees as confrontational behavior, the DPRK urged the United States to abandon its military threats and hostile policies toward independent and sovereign states if it truly cares about its own security.
