North Korea Slams US 'Hostile' Policy, Vows 'Toughest' Response
SEOUL — North Korea on Monday denounced the United States for maintaining what it called a "hostile" policy and vowed to respond with the "toughest" countermeasures, according to a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The statement, from a spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry, criticized Washington for pursuing "hostile" measures under the banner of denuclearization and human rights. "It is pointless to expect any detente in the region, given the grave situation where the S. persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK is evolving in a more dangerous way," the official said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The remarks follow S. President Donald Trump's repeated outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in recent weeks, with Trump expressing hope to meet Kim later this year. However, the statement said, "There is no change in our policy toward the S. to respond to its invariable hostile policy with the toughest stand to the last."
The statement also reaffirmed North Korea's commitment to its nuclear program, calling it "an absolute guarantee for defending its sovereignty" and dismissing any notion that S. pressure could alter its course. "To absurdly stick to the past can never get a grip on reality or deter the future," the statement said.
North Korea's condemnation comes amid ongoing joint military activities in the region. South Korea, the United States and Japan announced they will proceed with the trilateral exercise Freedom Edge as planned, after the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with Seoul was scaled back by half earlier this month at Trump's order.
The North Korean official cast the upcoming exercise as part of "anti-DPRK military provocations" and claimed the S. military posture has become "a root cause of pushing the tensions on the Korean Peninsula to a more dangerous level and escalating the structural instability of the region."
The S. Department of State recently reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea, a stance Pyongyang has long rejected as a pretext for hostility.