North vows ‘resolute counterattack’ in response to NATO’s military fuel supply system plan
In an official commentary, Pyongyang also accused the security bloc of expanding its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a commemorative parade for the 73rd anniversary of North Korea’s “Victory Day” that marks the signing of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement at Pyongyang Gymnasium Square in Pyongyang on July 27.
KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION/YONHAP
North Korea warned on Saturday that it would mount a “resolute counterattack” against NATO in an official response to the alliance’s decision to overhaul its military fuel supply system, accusing the bloc of preparing for war.
“The fair international community aspiring after justice and peace will never tolerate the dangerous and challenging act of NATO dashing toward war but will make a resolute counterattack,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, said in a commentary on Saturday.
Referring to NATO’s Fuel Supply Chain Capability Programme Plan, the KCNA said the security bloc's intention was “to stockpile enough fuel and other war supplies and thus kindle the flames of war at any time in any part of the world.”
The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s main political decision-making body, approved the 27 billion euro ($31 billion) plan on July 22 to modernize the alliance’s fuel storage and distribution infrastructure.
The investment will support new facilities, including pipelines, in the eastern and southeastern parts of the alliance, according to NATO.
KCNA also accused NATO of expanding its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
“In recent years, NATO has more frequently introduced strategic assets of its member states into the Asia-Pacific region, demonstrating its military presence,” it said.
The agency said the organization was also “frequently staging adventurous military demonstrations in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula in collusion with countries hostile toward the DPRK,” referring to North Korea by the initialism of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
It cited the participation of NATO members in the recently concluded Rim of the Pacific Exercise, or Rimpac, saying it “clearly proves that NATO always keeps the Asia-Pacific region as a theater of war.”
The KCNA said that while the multinational organization had existed as a military bloc for several decades, “it is unprecedented that it prepares for war so openly as now.”
“To hasten war is to hasten NATO’s ruin,” it said.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
