N. Korea denounces US hostile policy toward it, vows 'toughest' response
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump during the second North Korea-U.S. summit at a hotel in Hanoi, Feb. 28, 2019. Yonhap
North Korea on Monday denounced the United States for maintaining what it called a "hostile" policy and vowed to respond with the "toughest" countermeasures.
North Korea's response came after the U.S. Department of State reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of Pyongyang, though U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed hope to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry said the U.S. continues to pursue "hostile" measures under the banner of denuclearization and human rights.
"It is pointless to expect any detente in the region, given the grave situation where the U.S. persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK is evolving in a more dangerous way," the official said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The statement followed last week's announcement by South Korea, the U.S. and Japan that they will go ahead with the trilateral military exercise Freedom Edge as planned, after the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with Seoul was scaled back by half earlier this month at Trump's order.
Repeating Pyongyang's longstanding claim that such drills amount to war rehearsals, the official cast the upcoming one as part of "anti-DPRK military provocations."
"The Trump administration has thus fully reconfirmed its invariable hostile policy to wantonly violate the sovereignty, political system and security interests of the DPRK through the 'denuclearization' racket, 'human rights' smear campaign and military threat."
The official claimed the U.S. military posture has become "a root cause of pushing the tensions on the Korean Peninsula to a more dangerous level and escalating the structural instability of the region."
"Our nukes serve as an absolute guarantee for defending its sovereignty and the nuclear weapons in possession of the DPRK and their sustained bolstering are the most responsible and correct option for ensuring regional peace and security," the statement continued.
It also dismissed any notion that U.S. pressure could change its nuclear policy, saying, "To absurdly stick to the past can never get a grip on reality or deter the future."
"There is no change in our policy toward the U.S. to respond to its invariable hostile policy with the toughest stand to the last," the statement said.