North Korea has condemned US plans to supply South Korea with tactical missiles and fund projects monitoring human rights abuses in the country, warning of a “powerful response” to what Pyongyang described as Washington’s hostile actions.
The US State Department said it had approved the possible sale of AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missiles and related equipment to South Korea at an estimated cost of $125 million.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said the weapons sale would have an “adverse effect” on the regional security environment, according to a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Pyongyang also criticised Washington’s plans to provide millions of dollars to programmes documenting human rights abuses and increasing the flow of information into North Korea.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor last week opened a competition for organisations to document rights violations in North Korea and “challenge the DPRK’s information monopoly”.
