A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea issued the following press statement under the title "We will deter the looming serious threat with tougher strategic counteraction" on July 12:

At the recent NATO summit in Washington, the US revealed its sinister intention to further strengthen the collusion and nexus between NATO and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, terming the just and legitimate exercise of sovereignty of the independent states including the DPRK a "threat".

The "Washington Summit Declaration", cooked up and made public on July 10, goes to prove that the US and NATO, reduced to a tool for its confrontation, pose the most serious threat to global peace and security.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry most strongly denounces and rejects the "declaration", an illegal document that violates the legitimate rights of independent sovereign states and a confrontational programme that incites new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale.

The US moves to expand military blocs are the vicious root cause of seriously threatening regional peace, extremely exacerbating the international security environment and sparking off worldwide arms race.

Before shifting on to other countries the responsibility for the deteriorated security in the Europe-Atlantic, the US will have to clarify who has constantly destroyed the security environment in Europe for the past decades through NATO's reckless policy for eastward advance and expansion.

It should also explain who has persistently tried for the last ten-odd years to inveigle the pro-American satellite countries in Asia into NATO, before claiming that the security between the North Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific is linked with each other.

We solemnly warn that NATO's strategy for "globalization", pursued by the US, is most likely to bring the danger of war worldwide.

The US should be held totally responsible for seriously infringing upon the sovereignty and security interests of other countries and constantly destroying the strategic stability of the world while wantonly violating the recognized principles of international law including respect for sovereignty, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit.

The prevailing situation requires a new force and mode of counteraction to foil the US attempt for expanded military bloc, an urgent challenge to international peace and stability.

The DPRK will neither overlook nor avoid the looming grave threat but thoroughly deter aggression and war threat with a stronger level of strategic counteraction and defend peace and security in the region and the rest of the world.

KCNA