Arab News Japan

TOKYO: North Korea has sent a clear message to the new US administration that it will not change its defense policies while America and its allies, especially South Korea, continue with their “provocations.”

A press release issued by the head of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry Press Office on Sunday stated: “The United States and South Korea cannot escape responsibility for the worsening regional situation brought about by the increasing visibility of their military provocations.”

The North accused the United States and South Korea of carrying out a series of “worrying military provocations that added to the unstable security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.”

It referred to the “Sangmae” exercise in South Korea held last week and a joint large-scale firepower exercise aimed at the North’s long-range artillery systems that took place a week earlier. It said the US, Japan, and South Korea “are targeting the North almost daily.”

“As long as the US rejects the sovereignty and security interests of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, we must respond to the US with an ultra-hardline approach from start to finish,” the statement said. “We emphasize that this is the only option for dealing with the US.”

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not tolerate the imbalance of power imposed by the US-ROK military collusion and will defend its national sovereign rights and security interests with an extremely strong response.”