North Korea calls for U.S. allies to denuclearise first, slams NATO summit

North Korea condemned the United States and its allies on Saturday for what it called strengthening military blocs and accelerating arms buildups after a NATO summit this week.

Pyongyang accused NATO leaders of portraying North Korea's exercise of its legitimate sovereign rights as a threat, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media KCNA.

The alliance demonstrated a stronger commitment to bloc-to-bloc confrontation through increased arms spending and closer military cooperation with allies in the Asia-Pacific region, the ministry said.

At the NATO summit in Türkiye on Tuesday, officials announced more than $50 billion in military deals. The move came as European allies faced pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to increase their defence spending.

President Lee Jae Myung of Pyongyang's rival South Korea said on the sidelines of the summit that Seoul hoped to expand cooperation with NATO allies in research and development, including advanced technologies, and in weapons production.

Pyongyang criticises denuclearisation efforts

North Korea said the summit showed NATO was a body focused on war and confrontation, pursuing what it described as exclusive geopolitical interests at the expense of peace and security in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

Pyongyang said Western efforts to convince it to abandon nuclear weapons had ended permanently. It argued that denuclearisation should instead focus on South Korea, Japan and NATO members involved in nuclear-sharing arrangements.

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The ministry said North Korea would safeguard its sovereignty and security interests, as well as regional peace, through what it called the responsible exercise of its sovereign rights.

KCNA reported on Friday that North Korea had decided on measures to strengthen its nuclear forces "quantitatively and qualitatively" as leader Kim Jong Un pushes to modernise the military. 

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North Korea NATO Nato Summit Kim Jong Un nuclear weapons denuclearisation South Korea Japan