Pyongyang: North Korea on Friday strongly criticized the Quad countries-the US, Australia, India, and Japan-for 'coercive acts' following a joint rebuke of Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
According to Anadolu Agency, the North Korean Foreign Ministry 'strongly denounced and rejected the malicious act by the US of clearly exposing its invariable hostile intention' against North Korea, as well as expressing 'serious concern over the negative consequences to be entailed by it,' as stated on Friday on the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The statement was a response to the Quad countries condemning North Korea's 'pursuit of nuclear weapons' on Tuesday. A ministry spokesperson said, "It is none other than the US, which is attempting to unilaterally change the existing situation by force or (in a) coercive way in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Korean peninsula," emphasizing that nothing can sway Pyongyang's position as a nuclear-armed state.
Washington's "attempt to deny" Pyongyang's position 'is not only the gravest violation of sovereignty but also a dangerous act of escalating tension which creates instability in the region,' it added.
Pyongyang asserts its right to "take appropriate and reflective countermeasures of the self-defensive nature against such provocative military actions as the US moves to strengthen the multilateral military alliance," and criticized joint military drills as having a clear aggressive character.
North Korea stated it "will never tolerate the attempt of the US and its vassal forces to unilaterally change the position of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and the current situation on the Korean peninsula."
In a joint statement after a foreign ministerial meeting Tuesday in Washington, the Quad countries condemned North Korea's "destabilizing launches using ballistic missile technology and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs)." The four nations reiterated their commitment to the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs," and urged North Korea to comply with all its UNSCR obligations.