N. Korea says US approval of S. Korea's nuclear subs drive sparks 'nuclear domino'

President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of their special banquet in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 29. Yonhap

North Korea said Tuesday that the United States' approval of South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines will lead to a "nuclear domino" phenomenon in the region as it denounced the allies' joint fact sheet on trade and security agreements.

The North issued its first reaction to the document that Seoul and Washington released Friday over the outcomes of two summits between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in August and October. On the same day, the allies also issued a joint communique following their annual defense talks held in early November.

In a lengthy commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea denounced the joint fact sheet as formalizing Seoul and Washington's confrontational stance toward Pyongyang.

The North, in particular, took issue with the U.S.' formal approval of South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and the allies' commitment to completing denuclearization of the North.

North Korea denounced Washington's approval of Seoul's nuclear submarines drive as a "serious development" that destabilizes the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region and "causes the situation of impossible nuclear control in the global sphere."

"The ROK's possession of nuclear submarine is a strategic move for 'its own nuclear weaponization' and this is bound to cause a 'nuclear domino phenomenon' in the region and spark a hot arms race," the KCNA said, using the acronym of South Korea's formal name, the Republic of Korea.

On the U.S. expressing its support for South Korea's move to secure uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities, North Korea denounced it as "laying a springboard for" Seoul to develop into a "quasi-nuclear weapons state."

The North also lashed out at the U.S. expressing its commitment with South Korea to achieving "complete denuclearization" of the North, insisting the announcement of the summit agreements was "the most vivid manifestation" of the Trump administration's policy toward North Korea.

"This is an intensive expression of their confrontational will to deny the constitution of the DPRK to the last. It proves that their only option is confrontation with the DPRK," the North said, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea said the joint fact sheet showed the Washington and Seoul's confrontational intention to remain hostile toward the North was "formulated as their policy" once again.

"The DPRK will take more justified and realistic countermeasures to defend the sovereignty and security interests of the state and regional peace," the KCNA said.

North Korea appears to show a measured response to the summit document and the joint communique of the Security Consultative Meeting, given that it did not issue an official statement in the name of government officials. The North also did not directly criticize Trump or President Lee by name.

The North's warning came as it has not responded to Trump's repeated proposal to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resume stalled diplomacy with Pyongyang. Kim earlier said the North remains open to talks with the U.S. if Washington does not demand North Korea's denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue.