North Korea has strongly criticized efforts by the United States to promote its security and economic agenda in Southeast Asia, while simultaneously reaffirming support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its role in maintaining regional stability.
In a statement released through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, a spokesperson for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry emphasized that North Korea respects ASEAN's diplomatic centrality and its core founding principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in internal affairs.
The comments followed the conclusion of high-level diplomatic gatherings in Manila, including the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum, where regional security, the Korean Peninsula, and cross-strait stability were key items on the agenda.
Pyongyang accused Washington and its allies of utilizing regional multilateral platforms to push hostile policies aimed at counteracting North Korea. The Foreign Ministry specifically targeted joint statements from the foreign ministers of the United States, South Korea, and Japan that called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and emphasized freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. North Korean officials identified the trilateral alliance as a primary source of instability in the Asia-Pacific.
The statement further asserted that Southeast Asia should not serve as a staging ground for American security interests or geopolitical power projection, adding that ASEAN forums ought to foster cooperation rather than facilitate criticism of sovereign states.
Reiterating its firm strategic posture, North Korea declared its nuclear status to be permanent and non-negotiable. However, the ministry expressed a desire to continue expanding bilateral relations and economic cooperation with individual ASEAN member states that respect Pyongyang's sovereignty and support balanced regional diplomacy.
