SEOUL: North Korea on Thursday (Aug 22) criticised recent US arms sales in Asia, calling a deal to deliver Apache helicopters to South Korea a “reckless, provocative act” and adding Pyongyang would build up its own forces in response.
“We strongly oppose and reject the US and its vassal forces’ arms buildup,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the South.
“This is a reckless, provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region,” it added, also criticising recent US sales to Japan and other Asia-Pacific allies of Washington.
The United States on Monday announced its approval of a US$3.5 billion sale to South Korea of up to 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including missiles.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale would “improve the Republic of Korea’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force capable of deterring adversaries and participating in regional operations”, using the formal name for South Korea.
The State Department approved the possible sale of the helicopters to South Korea, and the DSCA on Monday provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66c8d39502ef4c8699076530340e906c&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.channelnewsasia.com%2Feast-asia%2Fnorth-korea-us-sale-military-helicopters-south-korea-reckless-4562671&c=15262473787259081855&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-22 19:48:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.