North Korea slams US nuclear strategy, vows to build up nuclear arms

SEOUL — North Korea on Saturday strongly lashed out at a revised US nuclear strategy plan, vowing to further strengthen its nuclear capability.

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that President Joe Biden approved the revised strategy in March this year to focus on China's growing nuclear threats and prepare for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from North Korea, China and Russia, reports Yonhap news agency.

Biden's approval of the revised strategy, called the "Nuclear Employment Guidance," came amid North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal and Russia's perceived nuclear sabre-rattling.

"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 US dangerous nuclear posture readjustment, and resolutely counter any type of nuclear threat," a spokesperson from the North's foreign ministry said in a commentary carried out by its official Korea Central News Agency.

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DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"No matter how desperately the US 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," the spokesperson said.

Nuclear threats from the three countries came into sharper focus recently as Russia has been deepening its strategic cooperation with both North Korea and China amid its diplomatic isolation caused by Moscow's war in Ukraine.

In a telling sign of their burgeoning cooperation, Russia and the North signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty during their summit in June.

Russia and China have also boasted of their "no limits" partnership, while Washington has decried Beijing for its support for Russia's defence industrial base.