North Korea has officially condemned the Trump administration in the United States. The South Korean government assessed that North Korea is responding swiftly to the new administration’s initial actions and statements.
During a regular press briefing on Monday, Unification Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung Sam stated that North Korea has shown this pattern of behavior since mentioning a “strongest counter-strategy against the U.S.” at its year-end plenary meeting last year.
Koo added that the ministry would not provide a separate assessment of North Korea’s criticism of the U.S. While North Korea’s intentions remain unclear, its reaction indicates a strong interest in North Korea-related policies from the Trump administration.
Koo emphasized that North Korea poses a threat to international peace and reiterated that South Korea, the United States, and the international community remain firm in their commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization.
The same morning, North Korea released a statement through the Korean Central News Agency, marking its first official condemnation of the Trump administration. This followed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks referring to North Korea as a “rogue state.” North Korea condemned Rubio’s statement as hostile, accusing him of attempting to damage the image of a sovereign state. It called the statement a serious political provocation that violates international legal principles of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
North Korea also criticized the U.S. government’s plan to expand its missile defense system. In a public statement from its Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Disarmament and Peace, North Korea claimed that the new U.S. administration’s efforts to maintain military dominance and suppress independent sovereign states had been evident since its first day in office.