N. Korea intensifies criticism of S. Korea-US deterrence plan
This undated photo shows USS Rhode Island(SSBN-740). Korea Times file
North Korea's state media on Friday intensified Pyongyang's criticism of a recent summit agreement between South Korea and the United States on strengthening U.S. extended deterrence.
Citing articles carried by Chinese news outlets, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the summit agreement would create a new Cold War structure in Northeast Asia and increase risks of confrontation in the region.
The KCNA also hinted that North Korea may carry out more provocations if South Korea and the United States bolster Washington's extended deterrence against Pyongyang.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden held a summit in Washington last week and announced the adoption of the Washington Declaration on strengthening U.S. extended deterrence against the North's threats, which includes a U.S. plan to send a nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to South Korea.
"This just escalates the danger of war far from promoting security, doesn't it?" the KCNA reported.
"Will the north step back with its spirit dampened or develop more powerful nukes and missiles in the face of frequent deployment of U.S. nuclear assets in south Korea?" the KCNA said in its English-language report, referring to North Korea by using the lowercase "north."
Friday's KCNA report is the latest in Pyongyang's escalating criticism of Seoul and Washington following the agreement by Yoon and Biden.
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, issued the North's first response to the Yoon-Biden summit last Saturday, warning Pyongyang could take "more decisive" action to deal with the change in the security environment.
On Wednesday, the KCNA reported that North Korean youths held a rally where participants burned an effigy depicting the "invaders and provocateurs," apparently referring to Yoon and Biden. (Yonhap)