Press Statement of Spokesperson for DPRK Foreign

Ministry

Pyongyang, August 24 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea released Saturday the following press statement "We will
resolutely cope with any type of nuclear threat posed by the U.S.":
Recently, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council officially admitted the fact
that the U.S. administration revised its "nuclear weapons employment planning guidance" in
March last, clarifying the stand that the revision is not aimed at a specified country. However,
the spokesperson expressed "concern" over the rapid development of nuclear force of the
DPRK, Russia, China and other sovereign countries.
This is nothing but a childish red herring to justify its dangerous nuclear-use strategy aimed
at military deterrence and maintenance of geopolitical hegemony against other countries and
evade criticism of the international community.
The DPRK Foreign Ministry expresses serious concern over and bitterly denounces and
rejects the behavior of the U.S. which is pursuing the unilateral nuclear edge while going
against the desire of the international community for global peace, stability and detente by
continuously fabricating someone's "nuclear threat".
The coordination of nuclear posture of the U.S., which has kept the world's biggest nuclear
arsenal, has a serious negative impact on the global nuclear balance, security environment
and nuclear disarmament system.
In June, too, an official concerned of the U.S. National Security Council made clear who is
the target of the U.S. administration's "nuclear weapons employment planning guidance",
saying that the guidance underscores the need to simultaneously deter the independent
sovereign states including the DPRK.
The present U.S. administration put forward a deceptive "policy of no-first use of nuclear
weapons" as part of its election commitments. But, in fact, it denied this policy in the "nuclear
posture" issued after its emergence, and has spent astronomical amount of money on
modernizing the nuclear force every year.
In particular, the U.S. developed the structure of alliance with its satellite countries in the
Asia-Pacific region including the ROK and Japan into a nuclear-based military bloc. And it
has operated even a group aimed at using nukes against a sovereign state, contrary to the
UN Charter and other universal international law principles.
The situation goes to prove that the U.S., which likes to talk about non-existent "nuclear
threat" from others, is the most irresponsible actor and rogue state triggering a nuclear arms
race and increasing the possibility of nuclear clashes worldwide.

Had the U.S. neither made nor used nuclear weapons, the concept of "nuclear threat" would
not have appeared on the earth at all.
The nuclear threat to the international community has come from the U.S. not only in the
20th century but also in the 21st century, and its origin and orientation will remain unchanged
in the future, too.
Other sovereign states' efforts for bolstering up their defence capabilities to cope with the
ever-increasing nuclear threat from the U.S. can never be a pretext for its nuclear arms
buildup for aggression and provocative coordination of nuclear posture.
No matter how desperately the U.S. may exaggerate the "nuclear threat" from other
countries, the DPRK will push forward the building of nuclear force sufficient and reliable
enough to firmly defend the sovereignty and security interests of the country on its fixed
timetable, and this is the most essential and legitimate exercise of the right to self-defence to
ensure the regional peace and security and protect itself.
The DPRK will as ever bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate
all sorts of security challenges that may result from the U.S. dangerous nuclear posture
readjustment, and resolutely counter any type of nuclear threat. -0-