North Korea demands nuclear deterrence, claims US deceived war-ravaged countries

On Tuesday, North Korea called for nuclear deterrence, claiming that it has learned its lesson from countries that were persuaded by the United States to give up their deterrence. Pyongyang has sought to defend its nuclear program as a means of self-defence. As per the reports of Yonhap News, it stated that the United States' invasion technique is to force a country to forfeit its self-defence capabilities. It further said that the United States has been unrelenting in laying down sugarcoated phrases, claiming that if the government abandons its military expansion and pursues a different course, it will help the country flourish.

North Korea made these claims in a book issued by Pyongyang Publishing House that chronicled its leader Kim Jong-un's military and diplomatic successes over the last decade. Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean website, released the book. According to the book, the country has learnt lessons from other countries, including as the 2011 military intervention in Libya, which has left them with little choice but to use war deterrence.

The book then went on to detail Kim's achievements in summit meetings with China, Russia and the United States. The book lauded Kim in particular for "not giving in a single step" to safeguard his country's sovereignty and rights during the Hanoi summit in 2019, despite the fact that his meeting with former President Donald Trump concluded without an accord.

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons

In the meanwhile, this comes just days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons into the sea last Wednesday. It was North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in in two months, amid stalled nuclear talks with the US. North Korea said in March that it had successfully tested its longest-range missile as part of its development of functional nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching the American homeland, despite a 2018 embargo on long-range launches.

The missiles were launched as North Korea claimed that its first domestic COVID-19 pandemic was decreasing. The South Korean administration said that North Korea had shot an ICBM and two short-range ballistic missiles after an emergency national security council meeting, according to media reports. The US has chastised North Korea for its numerous ballistic missile launches.

Image: AP