North Korea criticized a meeting at Camp David among the United States, South Korea and Japan, as an "Asian version of NATO" and vowed to take "overwhelming and pre-emptive" action against the trilateral alliance, a senior defense official said.
On Thursday, the same day North Korea failed to launch a spy satellite for the second time in three months, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam accused the leaders of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo of having a "greedy ambition for world domination," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
He then said that North Korea would "not tolerate military hostile acts against our state at all and [would] take an overwhelming and pre-emptive" action in response to the meeting, according to the South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun.
"Our will and determination to carry out this is absolutely unchanging," Kang added.
US ANNOUNCES NEW MULTIYEAR MILITARY EXERCISE PLAN WITH JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AHEAD OF SUMMIT
On Thursday, Kang criticized the allied countries for sowing animus towards Russia, which continues its 540-plus day invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has publicly supported Russia.
"We once again send full support and solidarity to the feat of justice of the Russian people to defend the sovereign rights of the state and realize international justice," he said. "We will continue to [strengthen] our friendship and unity."
Kang also suggested that the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine could share similarities with a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
"In a joint press conference held after the meeting, Biden clamored that the international community needs a joint response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that this could happen in Asia as well," he continued.
Speaking of North Korea recently hosting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Kang added: "As we witnessed the actions of our adversaries who are anxious and impatient because they do not know what kind of powerful force will emerge from the fact that the cooperation and exchanges of world-class military powers completely shatter the U.S.-led unipolar world order. We look forward to seeing our adversaries."
BIDEN VOWS 'UNWAVERING AND ENDURING' SUPPORT ON UKRAINE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY
"No matter how much the United States and its henchmen talk about the 'joint countermeasure' that has put their heads together to deal with someone else's threat, they will not tolerate military hostile acts against our state at all and take an overwhelming and pre-emptive force response," he concluded.
The statement came after the North's second attempt to put a spy satellite into space failed.
The spy satellite that North Korea first attempted to launch into space in May ultimately crashed into the sea.
