NK condemns missile warning data sharing between S. Korea, US, Japan
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva Oct. 2, 2014. Reuters-Yonhap
North Korea on Thursday denounced a plan by South Korea, the United States and Japan to launch a real-time missile warning data sharing system this month as an "extremely dangerous military act" to invade the North.
In the landmark Camp David summit among their leaders in August, the three countries agreed to operationalize the trilateral real-time system by the end of this year in a sign of their growing security coordination against Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
On Wednesday, Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, said the plan is "on track" and that the trilateral system is expected to be operational "within the next few days."
"The trilateral sharing of missile warning data, led by the U.S., is an extremely dangerous military act that is clearly aimed at pushing the regional political situation into a more intimidating confrontation," Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, said.
The newspaper claimed the system is a pretext for "lighting the fuse of a war to invade the North" and to suppress surrounding countries in an apparent reference to China and Russia.
South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs deplored the criticism by Pyongyang.
The ministry said Pyongyang's increasingly frequent criticism of South Korea in the Rodong Sinmun may be an attempt to arouse a sense of animosity against the South.
In a separate article, the Rodong Sinmun touted the launch of a military spy satellite and a submarine capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack as its biggest feats of the year.
North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite in November after two failed attempts. In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a commissioning ceremony of a "tactical nuclear attack submarine."
"A new chapter has unfolded in strengthening national power this year," the newspaper for the North's domestic audience said.
The newspaper also mentioned its growing cooperation with Russia and ongoing construction of residential flats in Pyongyang as major accomplishments. (Yonhap)