North Korea urges US to abandon 'military threats against others'

ANKARA

North Korea urged the US on Sunday to "abandon its military threats against others if it has concerns about its mainland safety," state media reported.

Pyongyang's Defense Ministry said that "the security guarantee of the US mainland" depends on giving up "military threats and aggressive attempts" against others, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

"Recently, the US military is hell-bent on inciting the 'threat' from the DPRK to its mainland while attempting to increase the arms buildup on the largest scale," said a statement released by the head of the policy office at North Korea's Defense Ministry.

DPRK is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

Pyongyang said US military officials are "picking a quarrel with the DPRK's self-defensive measures for bolstering up its nuclear force on several occasions, unhesitatingly making provocative remarks hinting at the possibility of outbreak of a war with the DPRK."

In a related development, a US intelligence report said North Korea stands in its "strongest strategic position" in decades as the country has been "doubling down on its pursuit of advanced weapons that can threaten US forces and allies in Northeast Asia, and the US mainland," Seoul-based Yonhap News reported Sunday.

In its "2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment" released Friday, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DFİ), said that "in return for support for its war against Ukraine, Russia has been expanding its sharing of space, nuclear and missile applicable technology, expertise and materials to North Korea, China and Iran."

The report added that it would enable advancements in the three countries' "weapons of mass destruction programs during the next three to five years."

*Writing by Aamir Latif