The chief of the Policy Office of the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea issued on February 15 the following press statement entitled "The DPRK's bolstering of its capabilities for self-defence is an essential requirement for deterring the enemies' various ever-increasing provocation attempts and ensuring the security of the state":

Some days ago, the commander of the US Northern Command said that the DPRK has secured the capability to strike the whole of North America with nukes, adding that the DPRK's ICBM force is posing a threat to the security of the US mainland and its missile defense system.

The US is bringing a serious threat to the security environment of the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world while seeking reckless arms buildup and radical modernization of nuclear force. Therefore, its claim about the "threat" from the DPRK is a brigandish sophism like a guilty party filing the suit first and turning black into white.

The strategic armed forces of the DPRK are the ones for defence to guarantee the security of the state and the strategic balance of the region. The US describing this as a "threat" only proves that it is hostile to the DPRK.

We express serious concern over the US military's confrontational behaviour to mould public opinion about the non-existent "threat" from the DPRK and justify the adventurous military ambition to gain supremacy in strength in the region under this pretext.

The current US administration is advocating the establishment of an attack-oriented missile defense system aimed at preemptive attack on other countries and weaponization of outer space under the pretext of defending its mainland. Timed to coincide with this, the commander of the US Northern Command is talking about the “threat” from the DPRK. This clearly shows what its real purpose is.

Shortly ago, a US nuclear submarine openly entered the region of the Korean peninsula, interested persons of the US Space Force conspired with the Japanese and ROK military gangsters to share information for detecting the ballistic missiles of the DPRK and conduct joint exercises in space and the US and ROK militaries are planning to enforce the large-scale war drill Freedom Shield in March. All these facts provide a good reason for the DPRK's bolstering of its corresponding defence capabilities to cope with the escalating military threat by enemy states.

If the US is really concerned about the security of its mainland, the only way to remove it is to completely abandon its military threat and hostile policy against independent and sovereign states.

It is the just right of self-defence of a sovereign state to steadily improve its self-defence capability to effectively contain all the security threats of the present and future and ensure its security and the strategic balance of the region.

The armed forces of the DPRK will as ever fully deter and control all kinds of challenges and threats from its enemy states by dint of powerful self-defence capability and faithfully carry out their mission for reliably defending peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region.