North Korea Expresses "Serious Concern Over Confrontational Behavior" to US Commander

Statement by the Director of the Ministry of National Defense Policy Office

Yonhap News

On the 15th, North Korea reaffirmed its policy to strengthen its nuclear forces for defensive capabilities, stating that the remarks by the U.S. Northern Command about the imminent start of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) production "prove their hostility towards us."

In a statement released that day, the Director of the Ministry of National Defense Policy Office said, "Enhancing our self-defense capabilities is an essential requirement to deter the increasingly brazen provocations by our adversaries and to ensure the safety of the nation," according to the Korean Central News Agency.

He further expressed strong opposition, saying, "We express serious concern over the confrontational behavior of the U.S. military, which tries to justify its adventurous military ambitions to gain superiority in the region under the pretext of publicizing the non-existent 'threat' of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Earlier, U.S. Northern Command General Gregory G. Guillot stated at the Senate Armed Services Committee on the 13th that North Korea may soon begin production of ICBMs capable of striking the U.S. mainland, and expressed diminishing confidence in the ability to defend against them.

The Policy Office Director also mentioned recent events such as the public entry of a U.S. nuclear submarine into the Korean Peninsula, discussions by U.S. Space Force officials on information sharing between South Korea and Japan for ballistic missile detection, joint space exercises, and the planned enforcement of the March U.S.-South Korea joint exercise "Freedom Shield" (FS).

He argued, "All these facts provide sufficient reasons for us to correspondingly strengthen our defense capabilities in response to the increasing military threats from hostile countries."

He added, "If the United States truly has concerns about the safety of its homeland, the only way to resolve them is to thoroughly abandon military threats and hostile policies against sovereign independent countries," insisting that "our continuous enhancement of self-defense capabilities is the rightful and legitimate defensive right of a sovereign nation."