North Korea Criticizes PSI Drill... "Attempted Blockade Will Be Considered a Declaration of War"

"Exercises for Comprehensive Embargo Measures and Preparations for Preemptive Strikes"

North Korea condemned the multinational maritime blockade exercise 'Eastern Endeavor 23' held by South Korea in Jeju, threatening to regard any attempt at blockade as a declaration of war.

Kim Son-kyung, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea, expressed opposition to the maritime blockade exercise conducted in connection with the high-level Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) meeting held the previous day, stating through a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency on the 1st, "The United States and the South Korean puppet forces continue to be entangled in reckless provocations against us." Marking its 20th anniversary this year, PSI is an international cooperative framework aimed at preventing the transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) materials to countries and terrorist groups that disregard international norms. North Korea has historically reacted nervously to PSI-related activities.

Amid the reduction of the Prevention of Spread Initiative (PSI) maritime blockade training due to bad weather, on the morning of the 31st, the Republic of Korea Navy, Coast Guard, and the Special Mission Battalion of the ROK Armed Forces Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Command under the Ministry of National Defense are conducting training at Jeju Civil-Military Complex Port by searching a simulated vessel.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Vice Minister Kim denied the South Korea-US claim that the exercise was defensive in nature, arguing that "(judging by the scale of the forces mobilized) it is blatantly a highly dangerous military exercise intended to complete preparations for a comprehensive embargo and preemptive strike against a specific country in the event of an emergency." He particularly pointed out that "the fact that the exercise is adjacent to sensitive waters where territorial disputes persist suggests that this maritime blockade exercise has a multi-purpose character aimed at pressuring countries around us."

North Korea's reference to 'countries around us' pointed to the proximity of the Jeju open sea, where the exercise took place, to the Senkaku Islands (尖閣, Chinese name Diaoyu Islands), which are subject to territorial disputes between China and Japan. This is interpreted as an attempt to highlight the confrontation between the US-South Korea-Japan bloc and the North Korea-China-Russia bloc.

Amid the reduction of the Prevention of Spread Initiative (PSI) maritime blockade training due to bad weather, on the morning of the 31st, the Republic of Korea Navy, Coast Guard, and the Special Mission Battalion of the ROK Armed Forces Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Command under the Ministry of National Defense are conducting training at Jeju Civil-Military Complex Port by searching for a simulated vessel.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Vice Minister Kim also mentioned the Taiwan Strait issue, stating, "This exercise will act as a catalyst that further intensifies the situation in Northeast Asia," and added, "The possibility of a catastrophic military conflict occurring in Northeast Asia is becoming increasingly realistic." He insisted, "If the United States and its followers attempt any hostile blockade actions against our country or try to infringe even slightly on our sacred sovereignty, the Armed Forces of the Republic will regard it as a declaration of war against us."

He also reaffirmed opposition to the US-led PSI. Vice Minister Kim defined PSI as "a means to pressure anti-American independent countries," and criticized, "It is the height of hypocrisy for the United States, which freely spreads weapons of mass destruction worldwide, to talk about 'proliferation prevention.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.