North accuses US of hostility for S Korean missile decision

North Korea said Monday the US allowing South Korea to build more powerful missiles was an example of the USs hostile policy against the North, warning that it could lead to an acute and instable situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Its North Koreas first response to the May 21 summit between the leaders of the United States and South Korea, during which the U.S. ended decades-long restrictions that capped South Koreas missile development and allowed its ally to develop weapons with unlimited ranges.

The accusation of US policy being hostile to North Korea matters because it said it wont return to talks and would enlarge its nuclear arsenal as long as US hostility persists. But the latest statement was still attributed to an individual commentator, not a government body, suggesting North Korea may still want to leave room for potential diplomacy with the Biden administration.

The termination step is a stark reminder of the US hostile policy toward (North Korea) and its shameful double-dealing, Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs critic, said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. It is engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to dialogue. The US is mistaken, however. It is a serious blunder for it to pressurize (North Korea) by creating asymmetric imbalance in and around the Korean Peninsula as this may lead to the acute and instable situation on the Korean Peninsula now technically at war, he said.

The United States had previously barred South Korea from developing a missile with a range of longer than 800 kilometers (500 miles) out of concerns about a regional arms race. The range is enough for a South Korean weapon to strike all of North Korea but is short of hitting potential key targets in other neighbors like China and Japan.

Some South Korean observers hailed the end of the restrictions as restoring military sovereignty, but others suspected the US intent was to boost its allys military capability amid a rivalry with China.

The commentator Kim accused Washington of trying to spark an arms race, thwart North Korean development and deploy intermediate-range missiles targeting countries near North Korea. The South Korean government said it prudently watches North Koreas reaction, but Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo wouldnt comment otherwise, since the remarks were attributed to an individual, not an official statement from the North Korean government.

The North Korean statement comes as the Biden administration shapes a new approach on North Korea amid long-dormant talks over the Norths nuclear program. During their summit, Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said a new U.S. policy review on North Korea takes a calibrated and practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with the North. U.S. officials have suggested Biden would adopt a middle ground policy between his predecessors Donald Trumps direct dealings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Barack Obamas strategic patience. Some experts say Biden wont likely provide North Korea with major sanctions relief unless it takes concrete denuclearization steps first.

The North Korean statement criticised the Biden administrations review indirectly, saying the new policy was viewed by other countries as just trickery.

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