The chief of the Policy Office of the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on May 24 issued the following press statement, titled "The security guarantee of the US mainland lies in thoroughly giving up military threats and aggressive attempts against other countries":

These days, the US military is hell-bent on spreading the rumour of "threat" from the DPRK to its mainland while attempting to increase the arms buildup on the largest scale.

The Defense Intelligence Agency of the US Department of Defense on May 13 issued a report on the "missile threats" from the DPRK and other major nuclear weapons states. It also made public the "2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment" report on May 20 to talk about the improvement of the capabilities of the enemy states to strike the US mainland and the possibility of military cooperation.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commander of the Northern Command, the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command and other officials concerned of the US military are picking a quarrel with the DPRK's self-defensive measures for bolstering up its nuclear force on several occasions, unhesitatingly making provocative remarks hinting at the possibility of outbreak of a war with the DPRK.

The US military's worrying remarks timed to coincide with the US administration's claiming of a military budget of an astronomical sum of more than one trillion US dollars and official announcement of the establishment of a new missile defense system are a revelation of its extremely hegemony-oriented and adventurous military attempt to create the environment and conditions necessary for the greatest-ever arms buildup lacking in validity and rationality under the pretext of the so-called "threats" from other countries.

After making public the establishment of a new mainland missile defense system which will bring about the imbalance of global strategic stability, the US administration announced a plan for comprehensively updating the three nuclear strategic strike means in the coming decade. Along with this, it is making redoubled efforts to expand and update the nuclear arsenal in a comprehensive way, including the first invention of new B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb and the rapid development and deployment of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile and B61-12, a new variant of a series of nuclear bomb B61.

In April, the commander of the US forces in the ROK made public the existence of a nuclear war plan with the DPRK. Such arbitrary practices of the US to control the independent sovereign states with a nuclear-based military edge are becoming more undisguised. All the facts offer no room for argument as to who is the main target of the modernized US nuclear force.

What should not be overlooked is the fact that the US Air Force Global Strike Command, while conducting the test-fire of the Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile, the second of its kind for this year, described it as part of regular and periodic activity aimed at deterring the "threat" of the 21st century and setting its allies at ease. This is just like a guilty party filing the suit first.

This is a gangster-like logic that an act itself is not a problem, but what matters is who the actor is. This is also a vivid manifestation of the illogical way of thinking that the US’ demonstrative military actions are "defensive" and "deterrent" ones and that the DPRK's bolstering up of its self-defence capacity for legitimate self-defence is a threat and provocation.

The US large-scale moves to bolster up its military capabilities under the pretext of coping with the "threat" from the enemy countries are another danger signal in the aspect of ensuring peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Korean peninsula, and in the rest of the world and herald a security environment that will become more unstable.

It is none other than the US’ unreasonable military threat and blackmail and military muscle strengthening that caused and have steadily escalated the "external threat" to the US mainland.

The sure way to guarantee the security of the US mainland is not to recklessly expand its military force, but to thoroughly abandon military threats to and aggressive attempts against other countries.

We are strictly watching the US nuclear arms buildup, which poses a grave threat to ensuring regional and global peace and security, and are making sustained and practical efforts to possess a war deterrent capable of actively coping with any security instability resulting from its nuclear arms buildup.

The DPRK armed forces will thoroughly contain and control all sorts of military threats from the enemy countries in the future, too, and faithfully discharge their constitutional duty to reliably defend peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region.

KCNA