North Korea Responds to US-South Korea Fact Sheet: "Confrontational Intentions Formalized... Will Take Action"

First Official Statement Four Days After JFS and SCM Joint Statement Announcement

On November 18, North Korea commented on the US-South Korea Joint Fact Sheet (JFS) and the joint statement from the US-South Korea Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), stating, "The confrontational intention of the US and South Korea to remain consistently hostile toward our country has once again been formalized and institutionalized as policy."

On the 25th, citizens at the Seoul Station waiting room watched the news reporting that North Korea conducted the first test launch of the new strategic cruise missile 'Bulhwasal-3-31' through the Korean Central News Agency. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported this through a lengthy commentary of about 3,800 characters titled "Declaration of Confrontation by the US-South Korea Alliance Intending to Remain Consistently Hostile," stating, "We will take more justified and realistic measures to safeguard the sovereignty and security interests of the state and to maintain regional peace." This commentary marks North Korea's first official response, released four days after the announcement of the JFS and SCM joint statement.

North Korea criticized the mention of its complete denuclearization in the recent agreement, saying, "The United States, together with South Korea, reaffirming at the summit level the 'complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea' is a concentrated expression of their confrontational intent to ultimately deny our constitution," and added that it "denies the very entity and existence of our country." KCNA continued, "As a result, the ongoing debates among the media and experts regarding the true nature and direction of the current US administration's North Korea policy have finally come to a conclusion. Both we and the broader international community now have a clearer understanding of the US stance toward North Korea."

Regarding South Korea's approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, North Korea stated, "This is a grave development that destabilizes the military security situation not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the Asia-Pacific region, and creates an uncontrollable nuclear situation on a global scale." It added, "South Korea's possession of a nuclear-powered submarine is a stepping stone toward achieving 'independent nuclear armament,' which will lead to a 'nuclear domino effect' in the region and inevitably trigger a more intense arms race."

North Korea also criticized the modernization and strengthening of the strategic flexibility of the US-South Korea alliance, stating, "The regionalization and modernization of the US-South Korea alliance are materializing the US hegemonic attempt to establish a NATO-style security structure led by the United States in the Asia-Pacific region to encircle and contain its competitors. This reality demands a heightened awareness of the increasingly unstable regional and international security environment and a redoubling of responsible efforts to address it."

Furthermore, regarding the US expressing support for South Korea's right to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, North Korea stated, "This has paved the way for South Korea to become a quasi-nuclear state," and added, "It directly reveals the dangerous confrontational intentions of the United States."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.