North Korea has sharply criticized the U.S. approval of a sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to South Korea, claiming that military cooperation between Washington and Seoul is escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 13, a senior official at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. decision to approve the sale of approximately $300 million worth of advanced air-to-air missiles and related equipment to South Korea demonstrates that military coordination between the two allies is being systematically strengthened.
The official accused the United States of seeking to drive tensions on and around the Korean Peninsula to extreme levels.
The statement also claimed that Washington has approved multiple arms sales to South Korea in recent weeks, including maritime operations helicopters, attack helicopters and precision-guided munitions worth billions of dollars.
According to the official, the moves reveal an increasingly explicit effort by the United States to bolster South Korea’s military capabilities and position it at the forefront of regional confrontation.
The ministry further alleged that Washington plans to provide South Korea with $25 billion worth of weapons and military equipment by 2030, describing the effort as part of a broader U.S. strategy aimed at strengthening military pressure against North Korea and other countries in the region.
North Korea also argued that U.S. foreign military sales are undermining security conditions on the Korean Peninsula and across the region.
“The military buildup pursued by the United States and South Korea is rapidly advancing in a direction that threatens regional security and disrupts the military balance on the Korean Peninsula,” the official said.
The statement added that “U.S. arms exports are war exports” and warned that the importation of American weapons would only intensify tensions and confrontation, cautioning of what it described as serious consequences.
The remarks appeared to be a response to Washington’s recent approval of the missile sale to South Korea and reflect Pyongyang’s broader criticism of U.S.-South Korea military cooperation and U.S. arms export policies.
North Korea has repeatedly condemned joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, the deployment of U.S. strategic assets and foreign arms sales, arguing that such activities are major drivers of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.