Ansarollah Website - Follow-ups 

North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the United States' approval of a $300 million sale of advanced air-to-air missiles and related equipment to South Korea, warning that the move would "exacerbate tensions on the Korean Peninsula," according to the country's official news agency, KCNA.

The ministry's Director-General of Foreign Policy stated that military cooperation between Washington and Seoul is being strengthened "systematically," despite "international concern over escalating tensions on and around the Korean Peninsula."

He added that "US arms exports are war exports," and that North Korea will continue to "strengthen its deterrent capabilities for self-defense to maintain the balance of power in the region."

For its part, the South Korean Ministry of Defense stated that officials from South Korea and Washington held a meeting in Seoul on Thursday to "discuss ways to enhance nuclear deterrence and readiness in the face of North Korea's growing weapons program." North Korea consistently criticizes military cooperation between the United States and South Korea, describing it as "preparations for war."

Days earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected one of the country's largest munitions manufacturers, where he reviewed plans for major weapons production in the first half of 2026 and received a report on a long-term plan to expand production of various types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

This followed his emphasis on the importance of rapidly developing the navy to become a force capable of reliably assuming part of the responsibility for nuclear deterrence, during his supervision of a sea trial of the destroyer Kang Kon.