North Korea's Foreign Ministry denounced the NATO summit declaration, threatening to deter a "threat" with "tougher strategic counteraction," the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on July 13, citing a ministry's spokesperson.
The document, concluded after the three-day NATO summit, condemned North Korea and Iran for fueling Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine by providing Moscow with military aid.
With Russia's military stocks running low and domestic production capacity simultaneously hampered by Western sanctions, North Korea has been shaping up to be Russia's leading weapons supplier. Moscow has reportedly received extensive military packages from Pyongyang, including around 5 million artillery shells.
"Any transfer of ballistic missiles and related technology by Iran to Russia would represent a substantial escalation," the declaration read.
Pyongyang rejected the document, calling it "illegal" and claiming that the "U.S. and NATO pose the most serious threat to global peace and security." Further criticism of Washington in the document largely echoes Russian propaganda narratives.
"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will never overlook or avoid the looming grave threat but thoroughly deter the aggression and war threat with stronger level of strategic counteraction," the statement claimed.
North Korea has fired its missiles toward the sea off its eastern coast multiple times, seen by South Korea as a provocation.
A joint declaration of NATO members also mentioned that China is a threat to the interests and security of the alliance and is a "decisive enabler" of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing rejected the notion, characterizing NATO's accusation as being "provocative."
The White House said that a recently signed partnership agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang, pledging to provide each other aid if either is attacked, should worry not only the U.S. but also China as it threatens to undermine the stability of the Korean peninsula.
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