North Korea conducted a series of missile launches in the last two months, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in October…reports Asian Lite News
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that its development of new weapons is an “inevitable choice” to prevent a war and protect its people, accusing the US of having “double standards” on self-defence against Pyongyang.
North Korea conducted a series of missile launches in the last two months, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in October, reports Yonhap News Agency.
“Our strengthening of self-defence capabilities is an inevitable choice to prevent a war and protect our country’s sovereignty, dignity and the people’s right to survival and improvement,” the ministry said in a note posted on its website.
Citing an unnamed Russian expert on North Korea, the Ministry said the US and other Western countries are criticising North Korea’s military development while staying quiet on South Korea’s similar actions, such as an SLBM test in September.
“It is an accurate assessment on the unfair act of double standards of the US and Western countries that blindly take issue with our measures to strengthen national defence capabilities,” it said.
Kim Song, North Korea’s Ambassador to the UN, has called for the dismantlement of the US-led UN Command (UNC) on the Korean Peninsula, claiming it is only serving the political and military interests of Washington.
The envoy made the remarks at the fourth committee meeting of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on October 27, accusing the US of using the command for the “occupation” of South Korea and exerting influence in the region, Yonhap News Agency reported late Wednesday night.
“My delegation holds that immediate measures should be taken to dismantle the UNC in South Korea, which abuses the name of the UN,” he said.
Established in 1950 under a UN mandate in response to North Korea’s military provocations, the UNC has played a role as the enforcer of the armistice agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Ambassador’s remarks came as Pyongyang remains unresponsive to Washington’s overtures for dialogue, demanding the US first retract what it calls “hostile policy” against the North.
The denuclearisation negotiations have been stalled since the Hanoi summit between the US and North Korea failed to produce a deal in February 2019.
During last week’s meeting, the North Korean envoy also criticized Israel for what he called a crime against humanity on Palestinians.
The attending Israeli representative slammed back, saying Kim should focus on his own country that “blocks the provision of aid to its own suffering people”.
