North Korea vowed Saturday (Aug. 24) to strengthen its nuclear capabilities in response to reports that the United States has updated its nuclear strategic plan.
The country will “strengthen its strategic power by all means to control and eliminate all kinds of security challenges that may arise from Washington’s revised plan,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
According to reports The New York Times This week, President Joe Biden approved a U.S. plan in March aimed at preparing for the possibility of a coordinated nuclear confrontation. The plan includes steps against Russia, China and North Korea.
Times reported that the top-secret plan would for the first time shift Washington's deterrence strategy by focusing on the rapid expansion of China's nuclear arsenal.
KCNA reported that North Korea's foreign ministry “expressed serious concern and firmly condemned and rejected America's actions.”
North Korea also vowed to strengthen the development of adequate and reliable nuclear forces to defend its sovereignty, the report added.
Since North Korea's founding after World War II, Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies, and their ties grew closer after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The United States and Seoul accuse North Korea of supplying ammunition and missiles to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.
Pyongyang, which claims to be an “irreversible” nuclear weapons power, has called allegations of providing weapons to Russia “absurd.”
However, Pyongyang praised Russia for using its veto at the United Nations (UN) in March, effectively stopping monitoring sanctions violations just as UN experts began investigating alleged arms transfers.
China, which is also a major ally of North Korea, has positioned itself as a neutral party in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, claiming it has not sent lethal aid to either side, unlike the United States and other Western countries.
Pyongyang is a close political and economic ally of Russia, while NATO members have called Beijing a “major backer” in the conflict.
Since the Ukraine conflict began, Moscow has looked to Beijing as its economic savior, leading to closer trade ties between Russia and China as Moscow faces sanctions. (ah/ft)
