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SEOUL: North Korea said on Saturday (March 27) that the administration of US President Joe Biden had taken a wrong first step and revealed “deep-seated hostility” in criticizing its self-defense missile test.
North Korea claimed on Friday it had launched a new type of short-range tactical ballistic missile. Biden said the test violated UN Security Council resolutions, but said it remained open to diplomacy with Pyongyang.
Ri Pyong Chol, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party in the North government, said the missile test was self-defense against threats posed by South Korea and the United States with their joint military exercises and advanced weapons.
“We express our deep apprehension that the executive director of the United States criticizes the regular test fire, the exercise of our state’s right to self-defense, as a violation of UN ‘resolutions’ and openly reveals his hostility. deeply rooted, “Ri said in a statement. by the official news agency KCNA.
READ: North Korea tested a new ‘tactical guided projectile’: Pyongyang
Biden’s comments were a “manifest usurpation of our state’s right to self-defense and provocation,” he said, adding that Washington could face “something that is not good” if it continues to make “thoughtless comments.”
“I think the new US administration obviously took its first wrong step,” Ri said.
He accused the Biden government of “taking every opportunity” to provoke Pyongyang, calling it a “security threat.”
The test came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed to work to denuclearize North Korea and criticized its “systemic and widespread” human rights abuses during his visit to Seoul with Defense Secretary. , Lloyd Austin.
North Korea also criticized the exercises between South Korea and the United States that ended last week, even though they were repeatedly curtailed to facilitate the restart of denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.
Ri said Washington insisted on “gangster-like logic” in order to bring strategic nuclear assets to South Korea and test ICBMs at its convenience, but prohibits North Korea from testing even a tactical weapon.
“We cannot but build invincible physical power to reliably defend the security of our state in the current situation in which South Korea and the United States constantly pose military threats … while persistently conducting dangerous war exercises and introducing advanced weapons, “he said.
LEE: North Korea launches 2 ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan
READ: Biden warns North Korea against escalation after alleged ballistic tests
The White House, which said its review of North Korea policy was in the “final stages,” declined to comment. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But when asked earlier about the launch and whether it would affect the policy review, department spokeswoman Jalina Porter once again condemned the test as “destabilizing.”
“North Korea’s illegal ballistic and nuclear missile programs constitute serious threats to international peace and security,” he told a regular news conference.
“I cannot stress enough that the President and his security team continue to assess the situation and one of our highest priorities at this time is to make sure we are on the same page as our allies and partners.”
