North Korean media on Thursday criticized plans by South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on Pyongyang's missile launches, describing the trio as discussing "sinister measures" for tightening military cooperation.
The information sharing pact is a result of American efforts to incite confrontation and boost its military edge in the region by "cooking up the 'Asian-version NATO'," said a commentary under the name Kang Jin Song, an international affairs analyst, carried in state media KCNA.
"This is heightening the vigilance of regional countries including the DPRK to the maximum," it said, using the initials of the country's official name.
The comments come after the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan met at the G7 summit in Hiroshima last weekend and agreed to deepen trilateral cooperation on security.
The discussions included new coordination in the face of North Korea's illicit nuclear and missile threats, as well as on economic security, and on their respective Indo-Pacific Strategies, according to the White House.
North Korea has undertaken a series of missile and weapons tests in recent months, most recently a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The North's missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The pact to share real-time missile warning data was first announced at a trilateral summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November, and described as an effort to improve each country’s ability to detect and assess the threat posed by incoming missiles, a major step for deterrence, peace and stability.
The KCNA commentary also criticized other U.S.-led military alliances including the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance and the Quad group of nations, which also includes India, Australia and Japan, as exclusionary and confrontational.
South Korean and U.S. forces this week are holding their largest-ever live-fire exercises in a show of force that North Korea has criticized as "warmongers' madness."
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
7 Comments
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TaiwanIsNotChina
Yeah, how dare countries keep an eye on Lil' Kim and his rocket shows.
SimondB
Might help things if the fat midget stopped launching them over Japan and the Pacific.
leo T
Yawn
Peter14
So Kim from the so called DPRK, or as I like to term it the APRK (Autocratic Peoples Republic of Korea) is squirming over the sharing of information between concerned neighbors and the US over NK's hostile missile and nuclear programs which threaten the region and well beyond. Perhaps he should stop his representatives from yelling at others, name calling and stop saying his missile and nuclear research is aimed at the US, South Korea and Japan. Maybe that would help de escalate the situation?
The more hostile Kim's stance and the more aggressive his posture, the more likely the defense measures and training of those around him will continue. He is a loose canon and he must be constantly watched. It is not like he is a wise individual with measured responses to what he thinks others are doing. He and his countrymen all act like they could explode at any moment which necessitates constant close monitoring and taking a position of readiness to handle any such explosion that may occur.
Marc Lowe
With his stellar record of diplomacy, it is hard to believe this headline. Did Supereme Leader Kim slam the pact, or just some bombastic blowhard in the North Korean media? Criticizing the aggressive behavior of one's enemies is hardly "slamming" the more powerful country(ies). Perhaps if Japan would send more pro-wrestlers over to entertain the North Koreans as they did with Antonio Inoki in the mid-1990s, North Korea would be more friendly towards them. Political diplomacy is clearly not working. Time to cart out the athletes and musicians to encourage peace thru athletics and music. Kishida and Kim should seriously consider having a karaoke summit sometime soon.
Yrral
Peter14,do you know it only takes a missile 5 minutes to hit Tokyo at any given moment,from any part of NK
Desert Tortoise
It takes Patriot (over 200 successful engagements in Saudi Arabia nobody hears about plus the more than two dozen in Ukraine everyone heard about), THAAD (used successfully in UAE to engage Houthi missiles) and SM-3 a lot less time to shoot them down.