North Korea threatens NATO with 'tragic consequences' for condemning cooperation with Russia
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
NATO will face "tragic consequences" if the military-political bloc continues to "infringe upon the dignity, sovereignty, security and interests of the DPRK." North Korea will continue to make efforts to protect itself from threats posed by the United States, citing an unnamed spokesperson from the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
According to the spokesperson, criticism regarding the cooperation between North Korea and Russia allegedly indicates that NATO "is going to appear on the first-line trench of the anti-DPRK confrontation front." Additionally, Pyongyang expressed deep regret that the Alliance "slandered the intensified legal cooperation between independent sovereign states while distorting the essence of the Ukrainian incident."
In particular, the MFA accused NATO of fomenting hostility and "stretching its black tentacles" to the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific region.
"If NATO continues to try hard to infringe upon the dignity, sovereignty, security, and interests of the DPRK while persistently pursuing hostile policy toward it, NATO blindly following the U.S. will be held wholly responsible for the tragic consequences to be entailed by it," the spokesperson added.
Russia-North Korea cooperation
In September, The New York Times reported that Russia received new ballistic missile supplies from North Korea, including the short-range Hwasong-11 missiles.
Furthermore, it was previously reported last September that Pyongyang is supplying Russia with 152-mm artillery shells and Katyusha rockets.
Recently, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said that the supply of artillery ammunition from North Korea creates serious problems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front lines. Such supplies also contribute to the escalation of hostilities.
