In a new reaction, North Korea on Sunday accused its southern neighbor, America and Japan of launching a “nuclear alliance” against it, noting that the agreement between the three countries to form the group “reproduction of a new NATO with a character.”
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the new nuclear alliance was aimed at Pyongyang, adding that US efforts with Seoul and Tokyo to exchange data on North Korean missile launches were an escalation in worsening tensions. regional tensions.
What is the Nuclear Advisory Group (NCG)?
A new platform and mechanism for regular consultation between the three countries on extended deterrence, strategic planning and joint military implementation on the Korean Peninsula.
• Aims to strengthen nuclear contingency efforts against threats from Pyongyang.
• It was announced last April during South Korean President Yoon Sok Yol’s visit to Washington.
• Modeled on NATO’s nuclear policy planning body.
American exercises and attempt at calm
The developments coincided with the US Seventh Air Force’s announcement on Sunday to conduct military exercises in South Korea that included dozens of fighter jets, including an F-16 fighter and a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. U-2.
The U.S. military said in a Facebook post that the exercise “confirms our commitment to defending the Republic of South Korea and demonstrates our ability to rapidly launch a combat air force.”
Washington and Seoul say their drills are defensive, but Pyongyang sees them as preparations for an invasion or the overthrow of its regime.
In an attempt to appease Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he wants high-level negotiations between Japan and North Korea to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss the issue of the return of abducted Japanese.
Before a rally in Tokyo calling for the return of these citizens kidnapped in the 70s and 80s, Kishida reiterated that he was “determined to reach unconditional talks with Kim as soon as possible”, according to the Japanese news agency “Kyodo “.
On the other hand, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, in previous statements published by the South Korean agency “Yonhap”, denounced this agreement and military exercises concerning her country, and declared :
• Reflect a greater desire for aggressive action against North Korea.
• This will only create serious dangers for peace and security in Northeast Asia and the world.
• Hostile actions will cause North Korea to take more decisive action.
• Kim added, “The more the enemies insist on conducting nuclear war exercises, and the more nuclear resources they deploy near us, we will exercise our right to self-defense with measures similar to what is happening.
What are the implications of the agreement for East Asia and the Pacific?
China had entered the line of the worsening crisis, and had warned Washington and Seoul against “provoking a confrontation” with its ally, North Korea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning recently said that “all parties should confront the core issue of the Korean peninsula and play a role in promoting a peaceful settlement of it,” calling on to put an end to the “deliberate stoking of tensions, confrontations and threats”.
US expert and strategic analyst Peter Alex says the “Washington Declaration” will help deter North Korean threats, but it is not a nuclear sharing deal.
Alex added to “Sky News Arabia” that the objective of the agreement is to strengthen the partnership between strategic allies in the Pacific and East Asian regions, and it also aims to:
• American deterrence is reinforced, not the sharing of nuclear weapons between Washington and Seoul.
• Dealing with advanced and nuclear threats from North Korea.
• Strengthening of the partnership between Seoul and Washington to respond to North Korean missile challenges and tests.
On the other hand, the strategic analyst for Asian affairs, Jalal Al-Taweel, estimated that the United States, in the light of the Ukrainian war, is creating hotbeds of conflict in the Pacific region with the support of Japan. , South Korea and Taiwan, in exchange for the bloc of Russia, China and North Korea.
He added to “Sky News Arabia”:
• China is America’s number one strategic adversary.
• Washington adopts a policy of “demonizing Russia and China” to turn world public opinion against them.
• America seeks to form political, military and economic blocs such as the “Ocos” agreement and the “Quad” grouping, the latest of which is the “Nuclear Advisory Group” in the Asia-Pacific region, which increases tensions and creates hotbeds for long-lasting conflict.
• North Korea has already become a nuclear power since the 1990s, and uses nuclear weapons as a deterrent to deter any party trying to intervene in the peninsula, and some of its actions come at the behest of China.
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