▲ This file photo, taken April 1, 2026, shows MH-60R helicopters on display at a naval base in Changwon, 298 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)

N Korea-US-S Korea

N. Korea slams Washington's arms deal with Seoul, vows to bolster military deterrent

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday warned of countermeasures against Washington's recent approval of arms sales to Seoul, denouncing it as part of a "reckless military buildup."

In a commentary carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang said the buildup would incite it to further strengthen its military deterrent, vowing to redouble efforts to bolster its defense capabilities.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department authorized a potential sale to South Korea of MH-60Rs multi-mission naval helicopters and an upgrade program for the AH-64E Apache chopper, worth a combined US$4.2 billion.

The MH-60R is a naval helicopter used for anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance, surface warfare, and search and rescue operations.

Pyongyang denounced the approval as Washington's scheme to use Seoul as its "armed shock brigade" in pursuit of "strategic hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region."

"Such a unilateral arms build-up that goes beyond the defensive nature will only provoke the other party's corresponding measures for securing overwhelming military muscle," it warned.

"The gravity of such arms build-up and sales lies in the fact that they are going far beyond the ordinary defensive demands and being conducted in a specific way aimed at military attack on specific countries," the commentary also quoted a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry as saying.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]