North Korea on Thursday slammed Washington's approval of a new weapons sale to South Korea, warning that continued US arms supplies could have an "adverse effect" on the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region.
A spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry told the state-run Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang considers the recurring military deals an open demonstration of US "hostility" and vowed a "serious, immediate and powerful response."
The remarks follow the US State Department's decision last week to approve a potential sale of 103 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles and related equipment to South Korea, valued at approximately $125 million.
The State Department said the sale would support US national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific and help improve South Korea's "capability to meet current and future threats by expanding its air defense capability, deterring aggression in the region and ensuring interoperability with US Forces."
South Korea is one of America's key military allies in the region, hosting nearly 39,000 American soldiers under a defense treaty.
Pyongyang noted that the US has cleared sales of advanced weaponry to Seoul throughout the year, including naval helicopters, attack helicopters and precision-guided munitions, accusing Washington of accelerating regional military integration and stoking confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.
"Now that the military integration of the US and its allies is being accelerated in the Asia-Pacific region, we can not overlook the adverse effect of the US sale of its weapons" to South Korea on the regional security environment, said the North Korean Foreign Ministry.
The ministry spokesperson also criticized Washington for allocating funding to programs documenting the human rights situation in North Korea, calling it a "smear campaign" aimed at inciting internal social disruption.
