SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea Accuses US and said Monday that the United States permitting South Korea to develop more powerful missiles was an example of the US’ hostile strategy against the North, warning that it may result in an “acute and unstable situation” on the Korean Peninsula.
The claim that US policy is hostile to North Korea is significant because North Korea has stated that it would not return to negotiations and will expand its nuclear weapons as long as US hostility remains. However, the newest statement was credited to a single pundit rather than a government organization, indicating that North Korea may still wish to leave the ground for possible negotiations with the Biden administration.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs critic, stated, “The termination step is a vivid reminder of the US hostile stance against (North Korea) and its disgusting double-dealing.” “Despite its lip respect to the discussion, it is preoccupied with confrontation.”
Out of fears over a regional weapons race, the US has previously forbidden South Korea from producing a missile with a range of more than 800 kilometers (500 miles). The range is sufficient for a South Korean weapon to reach all of North Korea, but it is insufficient to hit possible important targets in China and Japan.
Some South Korean observers applauded the lifting of the limits as restoring military sovereignty, while others felt the US intention was to strengthen its ally’s military capabilities in the face of China’s rivalry.
The South Korean government said it “prudently observes” North Korea’s response, but Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo declined to comment more because the statements were ascribed to an individual rather than a North Korean government statement.
The North Korean announcement comes as the Biden administration formulates a fresh approach to North Korea in the midst of long-stalled nuclear talks. Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at their meeting that a new US strategy on North Korea “takes a measured and practical approach that is open to and will pursue negotiation.”
The North Korean statement obliquely questioned the Biden administration’s evaluation, claiming that other countries saw the new stance as “simply deceit.”