Islam Times - North Korea Decries AUKUS For Being US 'Tool’ Threatens Nuclear War

Islam Times - North Korea has reportedly criticized the new tripartite security partnership, calling it a US "instrument of war" that poses a "serious threat" to world peace, Yonhap reported, citing a statement posted on the DPRK Foreign Ministry's website.

AUKUS was said to "bring dark clouds of nuclear war to the world".

"(The concerns) come from the fact that the security platform plans to transfer to Australia the technologies to build a nuclear-powered submarine from the US which is the world's largest country of war and invasion," the statement reads.

It’s not the first time Pyongyang has expressed concerns about AUKUS. Earlier in September, a representative for the North Korean Foreign Ministry called it an extremely dangerous step that could lead to a nuclear arms race and harm the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the official, the new defense alliance signaled that North Korea needs to continue building up its defense capabilities in the long term so as to be ready for dramatic changes in global security.

The AUKUS defense alliance, announced in September by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, envisages the exchange of defense technologies between the three states. In particular, Canberra is set to receive nuclear submarine technologies from Washington and London.

The announcement of the AUKUS alliance came amid the continuing tension between the US and China. The latter was also among the countries that slammed AUKUS for forming a naval "clique" that would only deepen the arms race and undermine global efforts to combat nuclear proliferation.

A worldwide scandal was caused after the rupture of a large-scale submarine deal between France and Australia in September. Paris expressed outrage at Canberra’s new defense agreement with Washington and London, which involves the construction of at least eight nuclear submarines.