North Korea Slams NATO Summit, Demands Denuclearization Start With US Allies

North Korea condemned the United States and its allies on Saturday over what it called strengthening military blocs and accelerating arms buildups following this week’s NATO summit. Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media KCNA that NATO leaders had unfairly portrayed North Korea’s exercise of its sovereign rights as a threat.

The ministry said the alliance showed a stronger commitment to bloc to bloc confrontation through increased arms spending and closer military ties with Asia-Pacific partners. At the summit held in Turkey on Tuesday, NATO officials announced more than $50 billion in military procurement and industrial agreements, as European allies continue facing pressure from President Trump to take on more of the alliance’s defense costs.

South Korea Signals Closer NATO Ties

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on the sidelines of the summit that he hopes Seoul will deepen cooperation with NATO allies on research and development, including advanced technologies and weapons production.

North Korea Redirects Denuclearization Demands

Pyongyang, which maintains that Western pressure to give up its nuclear weapons has permanently ended, argued that denuclearization efforts should instead target South Korea and Japan’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities under US protection, along with NATO members involved in the alliance’s nuclear-sharing arrangements. The ministry said North Korea would protect its sovereignty and regional peace through what it called the responsible exercise of its rights.

This follows KCNA’s Friday report that North Korea had decided on steps to expand its nuclear forces both quantitatively and qualitatively, as leader Kim Jong Un pushes to modernize the country’s military.