Photo : YONHAP News
North Korea has accused the United States of engaging in political provocation by hosting the Quad summit with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India.
In a statement carried by the North’s state Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Wednesday, a spokesperson at North Korea’s foreign ministry said the Quad is the product of the United States’ Cold War mentality and its policy of inter-bloc confrontation.
The spokesperson added that the Quad is nothing but a political and diplomatic tool to implement the U.S. strategy for unipolar domination.
Although the U.S. ostensibly promotes cooperation with the other Quad members to hide the confrontational nature of the Quad, the spokesperson continued, the Quad exists to establish a “rules-based order” led by the United States, which has effectively turned the Quad into an international “maritime policy organization” in the name of “freedom of navigation.”
The criticism appears to be directed at the Quad leaders’ joint statement, in which they announced plans to launch a first-ever ship observer mission next year to advance maritime safety.
In the joint statement after the summit in Wilmington, Delaware, the Quad leaders also condemned North Korea’s missile launches and its nuclear program and reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.