'Offensive and confrontation-oriented in purpose, content and scope'

'We will deter all threats through demonstrations of real, changed power'

President Lee Jae Myung listens to a briefing on the basic plan for nuclear-powered submarine development at the inaugural Future Defense Strategy Committee meeting in May. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung listens to a briefing on the basic plan for nuclear-powered submarine development at the inaugural Future Defense Strategy Committee meeting in May. [Yonhap]

Kim Jong-sik, first deputy director of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, said Thursday that the military buildup by the United States and its allies seeking maritime dominance in the Asia-Pacific region "is emerging as a new risk factor that gravely undermines peace and security in the region."

In a statement issued Thursday, Kim said South Korean military officials had announced approval of a nuclear submarine development plan under the "Jangbogo-N" program, revealing intentions to formally begin construction in 2027 with active US support, launch the vessels in the mid-2030s and deploy them operationally around 2039.

Kim went on to say that under the AUKUS plan for nuclear submarine acquisition among the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, US Navy Virginia-class attack submarines had called at Australian ports under the name of rotational deployment, and that US and Australian military authorities had confirmed the project to purchase the first Virginia-class attack submarine from the United States around 2030 was proceeding as planned.

Kim argued that "the escalating naval buildup moves by the United States and its allies are clearly offensive and confrontation-oriented in their purpose, content and scope."

Kim particularly said that AUKUS and the moves by South Korea and Japan to acquire nuclear submarines "represent the concrete implementation of the United States' new security strategy to seize maritime dominance through unilateral nuclear-based superiority in the surface and underwater domains of the Asia-Pacific region, and are becoming the root cause of gravely threatening the strategic balance in the region and triggering a new arms race."

Kim said that "the nuclear technology sharing among adversary states and the moves to nuclearize military blocs pose a serious challenge to the security environment of countries in the region, and underscore the urgency and necessity for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to consider more diverse efforts and options in the domain of defending its maritime sovereignty."

Kim added that "the increasingly visible moves to build up hostile maritime forces and the security threats arising from them constitute a very grave challenge, and we will not stop at merely condemning them."

"We will deter all threats through action, through demonstrations of real, changed power. We have both the obligation to make such choices and the full capability to do so. We will continue our obligatory normal activities as part of the legitimate and responsible exercise of military sovereignty," Kim said.


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