Colombia’s ministry of foreign affairs on Monday condemned threats made by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to launch missile strikes on U.S. mainland targets.
In a statement the ministry said it was “deeply concerned about recent statements and actions” which were “threatening peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.”
“We condemn the use of force and the disrespect of the 1953 Armistice. We call [the DPRK] to sanity, to respect the UN resolutions and to use all the mechanisms in place to stop any hostility or confrontation on the peninsula,” read the statement.
International experts believe that North Korea is a long way off building a functioning nuclear weapon, however leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un Friday ordered “strategic missiles” to be ready to strike at “any time,” and a plan to expand its arsenal to deal with the perceived threat of the United States.
North Korea’s nuclear armed forces “represent the nation’s life which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats exist on earth,” the ruling Korean Workers’ Party said.
In recent times the DPRK has made frequent threats to attack South Korea and its allies, the U.S. and Japan.
On Saturday the regime announced it had entered a “state of war” with South Korea and would “settle accounts with the U.S.”
A widely held belief is that North Korea is using these threats in order to receive aid to the country which has suffered years of international sanctions resulting in regular food shortages, and to move towards a peace treaty with the U.S.
North Korea has denied these suggestions.
Sources
- Comunicado de Prensa (cancilleria.gov)
- Seoul remains calm despite North Korea’s sabre rattling (The Guardian)
