Pyongyang [North Korea], August 4: North Korea on Wednesday criticized a new US arms aid package to Taiwan, accusing Washington of pushing tensions in the region to a "warning point".
The US administration recently announced a new arms aid package worth 345 million USD to Taiwan , while the US Congress agreed to spend up to 1 billion USD in the 2023 budget to provide weapons to the territory. this, according to Reuters.
In a statement published by North Korea 's state news agency KCNA on August 4, Maeng Yong Rim, director of the China Affairs Department at the North's Foreign Ministry, said the plan was a "main provocation" dangerous, militarily dangerous" and "flagrant violation" of the "One China" principle.
"The US's malicious intention is to turn Taiwan into an unsinkable advanced base against China and a leading trench for the implementation of China's deterrence strategy," the North's statement read. know.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any "official exchanges" between Washington and Taipei.
"The Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Korean peninsula and the Taiwan Strait, is not a place for the United States to conduct military operations or test wars," the statement said. warned that the US would "pay dearly" for "provoking China's core interests".
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met a Chinese delegation in Pyongyang last week and pledged to develop the two countries' relations to a "new height". Before the meeting, they watched a military parade featuring Pyongyang's latest nuclear-capable missiles and strike drones.
According to Taiwan's defense ministry, the Chinese military has demonstrated its force around the island, sending dozens of fighter jets, bombers and other aircraft, including UAVs, into southern airspace. Taiwan.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper