Seoul; North Korea on Tuesday said that the United States' approval of South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines will lead to a "nuclear domino" phenomenon in the region, Pyongyang state media reported as quoted by Yonhap.
North Korea denounced the joint fact sheet between South Korea and the US on trade and security agreements that was released on November 14 over the outcomes of two summits between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington DC in August and in Gyeongju last month ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
The allies also on the same day issued a joint communique following their annual defence talks held in early November. South Korea's "possession of nuclear submarine is a strategic move for 'its own nuclear weaponization' and this is bound to cause a 'nuclear domino phenomenon' in the region and spark a hot arms race," the KCNA said as reported by Yonhap.
North Korea further denounced US support for South Korea's move to secure uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities, stating that it meant "laying a springboard for" Seoul to develop into a "quasi-nuclear weapons state."
Seoul has sought to secure enrichment and spent fuel recycling rights as part of efforts to address concerns about energy security and growing stockpiles of nuclear waste -- a move that would require a revision to the bilateral nuclear energy pact, the report by South Korean media said.
US and South Korea reached a broad trade deal earlier last month that would see reciprocal tariffs cut to 15 per cent from 25 per cent after Seoul said it would invest USD 350 billion in the US, including USD 200 billion in cash investment and USD 150 billion in shipbuilding.
In a White House readout released on Thursday, the US said it had "given approval for the Republic of Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines... [and would] work closely to advance requirements for this project, including avenues to source fuel".
Trump in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, had said that vessels would be constructed at a shipyard in Philadelphia run by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha."I have given them approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, rather than the old-fashioned, and far less nimble, diesel-powered submarines that they have now," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
North Korea had shown off its under-construction nuclear-powered submarine, CNN reported. Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly proposed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump and Kim have previously held three high-profile summits during Trump's first term, Kim earlier said North Korea remains open to talks with the US if Washington does not demand North Korea's denuclearisation as a precondition for dialogue.