Russia, China sending officials to North Korea is 'interesting' and 'significant on a few fronts': Dr. Mark Esper
Dr. Mark Esper, former Secretary of Defense under Trump, discusses China and Russia sending officials to North Korea amid rising tensions and reports of Wagner Group troops moving near NATO territory.
North Korea criticized a meeting at Camp David among the United States, South Korea and Japan, as an "Asian version of NATO" and vowed to take "overwhelming and pre-emptive" action against the trilateral alliance, a senior defense official said.
On Thursday, the same day North Korea failed to launch a spy satellite for the second time in three months, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam accused the leaders of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo of having a "greedy ambition for world domination," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
He then said that North Korea would "not tolerate military hostile acts against our state at all and [would] take an overwhelming and pre-emptive" action in response to the meeting, according to the South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun.
"Our will and determination to carry out this is absolutely unchanging," Kang added.
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President of the United States Joe Biden holds a trilateral news conference with President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida, right, at Camp David, President Biden's retreat in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, United States on August 18, 2023. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
On Thursday, Kang criticized the allied countries for sowing animus towards Russia, which continues its 540-plus day invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has publicly supported Russia.
"We once again send full support and solidarity to the feat of justice of the Russian people to defend the sovereign rights of the state and realize international justice," he said. "We will continue to [strengthen] our friendship and unity."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (not seen) meets with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 26, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Kang also suggested that the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine could share similarities with a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
"In a joint press conference held after the meeting, Biden clamored that the international community needs a joint response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that this could happen in Asia as well," he continued.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian officials met with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam and their North Korean counterparts in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 26, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Speaking of North Korea recently hosting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Kang added: "As we witnessed the actions of our adversaries who are anxious and impatient because they do not know what kind of powerful force will emerge from the fact that the cooperation and exchanges of world-class military powers completely shatter the U.S.-led unipolar world order. We look forward to seeing our adversaries."
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"No matter how much the United States and its henchmen talk about the 'joint countermeasure' that has put their heads together to deal with someone else's threat, they will not tolerate military hostile acts against our state at all and take an overwhelming and pre-emptive force response," he concluded.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio hold a joint news conference following three-way talks at Camp David on August 18, 2023, in Camp David, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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The statement came after the North's second attempt to put a spy satellite into space failed.
The spy satellite that North Korea first attempted to launch into space in May ultimately crashed into the sea.