The US State Department has repeatedly warned that if North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear test, it will impose a huge price. He said the joint US-South Korea air exercises that North Korea is discussing are purely for defensive purposes. Journalist Jo Eun-jung reports this.
The US State Department has again warned against North Korea’s seventh nuclear test.
Speaking at a regular briefing on the 1st, spokesman Ned Price said: “We have been concerned for a while about the possibility of a nuclear test by our allies Japan, South Korea and North Korea.” he closed them, “he explained.
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “Our message was very simple. There would be a profound cost and profound consequences if the DPRK took this dangerous destabilizing step in violation not only of UN Security Council resolutions, but also of what it hears very clearly from countries around the world. “
“Our message is very simple,” Price said.
When North Korea threatened to consider “stronger successive measures” in response to the combined “vigilant storm” with the United States, it said the exercise was for defensive purposes.
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “The DPRK knows perfectly well that the military exercises we conduct are purely defensive in nature and do nothing but support the security of our allies in the region in this case, the ROK. We have made it clear in our messages, private messages to the DPRK but also in our public messages that we have no hostile intent towards the DPRK. At the same time, we are committed to the safety of the ROK and also of our Japanese allies and to our combined defense position in accordance with our armored alliance system. “
“North Korea is well aware that our military exercises are purely defensive in nature and only support the security of our regional allies, in this case South Korea,” Price said.
“We have made it very clear in our private and public messages to the DPRK that we have no hostile intent towards the DPRK,” he said. There is, “she said.
“Ask the Department of Defense for more details on this defensive military exercise,” Price said.
“Unfortunately, North Korea is just another excuse for a provocation that North Korea could accept in the coming days or weeks,” he said.
Meanwhile, spokesman Price highlighted initiatives to strengthen relations, including military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
When asked to comment on Iran’s preparations to supply Russia with ballistic missiles and short-range surface-to-surface drones, Price said: “It is clear that Iran and Russia are intensifying their cooperation.”
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “Clearly Russia is in dire straits now, certainly more desperate for partners that it otherwise could not have pursued. Iran would fall into that category. The DPRK would fall into that category, non-traditional security partners whose assistance it requires or needs due to measures taken by the international community. “
“Obviously, Russia is in a very serious situation right now,” Price said.
“Iran and North Korea would fall into that category,” he said.
Price went on to warn that the United States is ready to impose costs and consequences on any country that supports Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine.
US media reported that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in September, citing US intelligence officials, had asked North Korea for support for missiles and artillery. The US government has also confirmed these reports.
The Pentagon said “there are signs that Russia has contacted North Korea to request ammunition” and John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator of the White House National Security Council, said: “There are signs that Russia is buying North Korean weapons, rockets and bullets, it appears to contain millions of feet.
I’m Jo Eun-jung from VOA News.
