A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea released Saturday the following press statement "We will resolutely cope with any type of nuclear threat posed by the U.S.":

Recently, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council officially admitted the fact that the U.S. administration revised its "nuclear weapons employment planning guidance" in March last, clarifying the stand that the revision is not aimed at a specified country. However, the spokesperson expressed "concern" over the rapid development of nuclear force of the DPRK, Russia, China and other sovereign countries.

This is nothing but a childish red herring to justify its dangerous nuclear-use strategy aimed at military deterrence and maintenance of geopolitical hegemony against other countries and evade criticism of the international community.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry expresses serious concern over and bitterly denounces and rejects the behavior of the U.S. which is pursuing the unilateral nuclear edge while going against the desire of the international community for global peace, stability and detente by continuously fabricating someone’s "nuclear threat".

The coordination of nuclear posture of the U.S., which has kept the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal, has a serious negative impact on the global nuclear balance, security environment and nuclear disarmament system.

In June, too, an official concerned of the U.S. National Security Council made clear who is the target of the U.S. administration’s "nuclear weapons employment planning guidance", saying that the guidance underscores the need to simultaneously deter the independent sovereign states including the DPRK.

The present U.S. administration put forward a deceptive "policy of no-first use of nuclear weapons" as part of its election commitments. But, in fact, it denied this policy in the "nuclear posture" issued after its emergence, and has spent astronomical amount of money on modernizing the nuclear force every year.

In particular, the U.S. developed the structure of alliance with its satellite countries in the Asia-Pacific region including the ROK and Japan into a nuclear-based military bloc. And it has operated even a group aimed at using nukes against a sovereign state, contrary to the UN Charter and other universal international law principles.

The situation goes to prove that the U.S., which likes to talk about non-existent "nuclear threat" from others, is the most irresponsible actor and rogue state triggering a nuclear arms race and increasing the possibility of nuclear clashes worldwide.

Had the U.S. neither made nor used nuclear weapons, the concept of "nuclear threat" would not have appeared on the earth at all.

The nuclear threat to the international community has come from the U.S. not only in the 20th century but also in the 21st century, and its origin and orientation will remain unchanged in the future, too.

Other sovereign states’ efforts for bolstering up their defence capabilities to cope with the ever-increasing nuclear threat from the U.S. can never be a pretext for its nuclear arms buildup for aggression and provocative coordination of nuclear posture.

No matter how desperately the U.S. may exaggerate the "nuclear threat" from other countries, the DPRK will push forward the building of nuclear force sufficient and reliable enough to firmly defend the sovereignty and security interests of the country on its fixed timetable, and this is the most essential and legitimate exercise of the right to self-defence to ensure the regional peace and security and protect itself.

The DPRK will as ever bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate all sorts of security challenges that may result from the U.S. dangerous nuclear posture readjustment, and resolutely counter any type of nuclear threat.

Rodong Sinmun