Seoul, Sep 16 (IANS) North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of instigating South Korea and Japan to push for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, using the criticism to justify its own nuclear buildup.
The North made the criticism after a US Navy official assessed Seoul and Tokyo's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines in a meeting with reporters in Hawaii on Thursday.
The official said Seoul needs a clear operational rationale for pursuing nuclear-powered submarines, rather than treating them as a "status symbol," while voicing a more favourable view of Tokyo's push to acquire them, reports Yonhap news agency.
In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a North Korean analyst on international affairs claimed discussions were "intended to instigate" both countries "to possess nuclear submarines," and accused Washington of serving as "the major chieftain of the worldwide nuclear proliferation."
The analyst also claimed Washington was using AUKUS, a security partnership comprising the US, Britain and Australia, to extend nuclear submarine technology to its allies, like South Korea and Japan.
"The reality goes to prove that Washington's plan for 'AUKUS 2.0,' which allows the transfer of nuclear technology for munitions to non-nuclear allies, has entered the phase of full-scale expansion," he wrote.
AUKUS, announced in 2021 and signed in 2024, has paved the way for Australia to have its own nuclear-powered submarines using US propulsion technology, enabled by a US exemption allowing the transfer of sensitive nuclear material. The pact is often seen as a possible benchmark for Seoul's future agreement with Washington.
North Korea also called the push by Seoul and Tokyo for nuclear-powered submarines "reckless acts" that "show what dangerous extent the US military adventurism to contain its rival states in the Asia-Pacific region by setting up its allies as shock brigades has reached."
Calling this a threat to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, he argued North Korea must "bolster up its nuclear war deterrent means both in quality and quantity without the slightest stagnation and stalemate."
--IANS
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