North Korea strongly condemned the NATO joint declaration that denounced alleged arms shipments from Pyongyang to its ally Russia, according to the official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday. In a joint statement during the summit held from Tuesday to Thursday in Washington, NATO leaders criticized Pyongyang, accusing it of "fueling Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine" by "providing direct military assistance" to Moscow. North Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed its "strongest possible condemnation and rejection of the NATO declaration," the Korean Central News Agency reported. A ministry spokesperson stated that the NATO declaration is an "aggressive program that incites a new cold war and global military confrontation," requiring "new strength and a new course of action against it."
Pyongyang has repeatedly denied supplying weapons to Moscow; however, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement in June to exchange military assistance in the event of an attack. During the NATO summit, Seoul and its ally Washington agreed to implement a large-scale deterrence system on the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea's nuclear threats. The South Korean presidential office clarified that Seoul and Washington will conduct joint military exercises to enforce these guidelines, formalizing the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in and around the Korean Peninsula. Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated to their lowest levels in years, with diplomacy stalled for a long time and Pyongyang intensifying its weapon tests and launching balloons carrying waste in what it claims is a response to balloons carrying anti-regime propaganda sent by South Korean activists towards its territory.
