Pyongyang, December 25 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea released the following press statement on December 24:

Recently, the U.S. is getting more undisguised in its attempt to permanently fix a grave nuclear instability element in the security environment of the DPRK.

A nuclear attack submarine of the U.S. Navy entered the Pusan operation base of the ROK on Dec. 23, under the pretext of its crew members' rest and replenishment of munitions.

The repeated emergence of the U.S. strategic asset 46 days after the entry of the nuclear carrier George Washington strike group belonging to the U.S. Seventh Fleet into the ROK on November 7 constitutes a grave act of causing instability and escalating military tensions in the Korean peninsula and the region.

The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to offering the ROK "extended deterrence" by mobilizing all defence forces including nuclear weapons at the fifth U.S.-ROK "nuclear consultative group" meeting recently held in Washington. Worse still, it has given the green light to the ROK's development of nuclear submarine and is frequently deploying its nuclear submarines there. Clear is what this fact hints at against the regional security structure.

This is a warning that the U.S. is getting closer to the critical level in its attempt to gain strategic advantage in the region by making its military alliance with the ROK more surely evolve into a nuclear confrontation bloc sharing its nuclear weapons.

Given that the U.S. confrontational intention to cement the structure of a nuclear-to-nuclear collision with the DPRK has been confirmed once again, the DPRK remains unchanged in its practical will to strongly propel the development of the defence capabilities for ensuring its prospective interests and defending security at present and in the future.

Nothing will change no matter how frequently the U.S. brings its nuclear submarine to highlight the visibility of its nuclear attack forces.

The U.S. nuclear threat that persists in the vicinity of our state is pushing us to securing earlier the strategic retaliatory capability for wiping out such threatening entities within the scope of our maritime sovereignty.

We will consider countermeasures corresponding to the U.S. nuclear muscle flexing, according to the doctrine of mutual containment between nuclear weapons states, and the way and time of their implementation will be chosen on the principle of symmetry and asymmetry. -0-

www.kcna.kp (2025.12.25.)