North Korean state media published an article slamming the US for encouraging South Korea and Japan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The author argued the move justified North Korea building up its nuclear deterrent.
In a commentary published by KCNA, international affairs analyst Choe Ju Hyon accused the US of instigating South Korea and Japan to acquire nuclear submarines. “The reality goes to prove that Washington’s plan for ‘AUKUS 2.0,’ which allows the transfer of nuclear technology for munitions to non-nuclear allies, has entered the phase of full-scale expansion,” he wrote.
AUKUS is a trilateral pact between the US, the UK, and Australia. Under the deal, the US and UK agreed to help Australia build a fleet of nuclear submarines. China has also criticized the transfer of nuclear-propulsion technology under AUKUS. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said AUKUS “undermine[s] strategic stability and provoke[s] an arms race in the region.”
In his article, Choe argued that North Korea must increase its nuclear deterrent in response to South Korea and Japan acquiring nuclear submarines. North Korea must “bolster up its nuclear war deterrent means both in quality and quantity without the slightest stagnation and stalemate.”
Tensions between the US and North Korea are rising just weeks after President Donald Trump said he wanted to meet with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un by the end of the year. Since Trump’s statement in August, the US has engaged in two rounds of war games in the region.
Last month, the US and South Korea held bilateral Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) war games. Trump scaled back the drills, arguing they were unnecessarily hostile against North Korea. Earlier this month, the US, South Korea and Japan held the trilateral Freedom Edge war games.
While Trump cut the UFS drills in half, the Freedom Edge war games have gone forward as planned. North Korea has conducted multiple missile tests amid the exercises, including several short-range ballistic missile launches immediately after Freedom Edge concluded.
