Kim Chon Il, Director-General of the Department of Press and Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, issued the following press statement on August 31, entitled "Attempt of the U.S., Japan and the ROK to turn cyber space into a theatre of geopolitical confrontation should not be allowed":

The U.S., Japan and the ROK are expanding their provocative acts to a new domain in an attempt to systematize and institutionalize the collective collaboration to put pressure on a sovereign state and aggravate geopolitical confrontation.

Here comes the typical example.

Recently, the U.S., Japan and the ROK have issued a "joint statement" full of fabrications under the pretext of coping with the "cyber threat" from the DPRK, and held a diplomatic working group meeting on cyber activities.

The tripartite confab of the hostile forces is a political farce to tarnish the image of the DPRK and embellish their moves for collective pressure on the DPRK by stirring world public opinion on the groundless "cyber threat ".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK strongly denounces and rejects the U.S., Japan and the ROK for their moves to use cyber space, the domain of development common to humankind, as a theatre of geopolitical confrontation and hostile propaganda against sovereign states.

The U.S., which formed the first-ever tripartite diplomatic working group under the pretext of "cyber threat" from the DPRK in December 2023, has held regular confabs with Japan and the ROK to use cyber space as a major lever of sanctions and pressure.

This year alone, the U.S. set the "cyber threat" from the DPRK as the core agenda and incited the atmosphere of confrontation at the tripartite U.S.-Japan-ROK confabs on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and the NATO foreign ministerial meeting. Besides, it is adding our citizens and organizations to the list of sanctions.

Meanwhile, the U.S., Japan and the ROK have staged the annual "Freedom Edge", the first-ever tripartite multi-domain joint military exercises covering the cyber space, on the Korean peninsula since June last year to steadily improve the mode of joint cyber attack targeting our state between the three parties.

This proves that the motive and purpose of cyber confabs between the U.S., Japan and the ROK are to further intensify political and military pressure on our state from A to Z and to pave the way for the fabrication of the triangular military alliance.

We warn the U.S., Japan and the ROK against their hostile attempt to turn cyber space into a theatre of geopolitical confrontation aimed to threaten the security of our state and infringe upon its sovereign rights.

The more the U.S. persists in its anachronistic and malicious hostile acts against the DPRK through the intensified collaboration with its satellite countries, the more distrust and hostility will be piled up between the DPRK and the U.S.

The DPRK will take practical measures to defend its rights and interests against the undisguised acts of the hostile states in cyber space and other domains and neutralize their malicious influence.