North Korea on Monday called NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Seoul a «prelude» to war.
«The NATO secretary general’s trip to South Korea and Japan is a prelude to confrontation and war as it brings the dark clouds of a ‘new Cold War’ to the Asia-Pacific region,» Kim Tong Myong, a researcher at the Society for the Study of International Politics, said in a statement carried by the KCNA news agency.
Kim said Stoltenberg’s visit «is aimed at instigating the creation of an Asian version of NATO,» in line with his strengthening of bilateral relations with Seoul and Tokyo in recent years, as he «considers them a key link in realizing his ambition for hegemony.»
Pyonyang has also denounced that the Atlantic Alliance «turned Ukraine into a theater of proxy warfare», an excuse with which it would put pressure on the Asian countries it visits in terms of war tanks.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused the United States this weekend of having crossed «even more the red line» by sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine for use in Russia’s counteroffensive in the country.
Stoltenberg arrived in South Korea on Sunday with the intention of strengthening the partnership between the Asian country and the Atlantic alliance in the face of China’s ascendancy as a regional power that is «rapidly expanding its nuclear capability» or the «global threat» posed by North Korea.
NATO must face «global threats and challenges, including those posed by China,» said Stoltenberg, after denouncing China’s investment in modern military capabilities, in statements to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
