SEOUL – North Korea on Thursday criticised a recent visit to South Korea by top US defence officials and vowed more “offensive” responses to what it called military threats from the United States and its allies, state media reported.

In a statement carried by the KCNA news agency, a spokesperson for the North’s Defence Ministry blamed the US for raising tensions in the region, referring to US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s visit to Seoul this week.

“The armed forces of the DPRK will strongly control and manage all threats to its national security and interests with more offensive and overwhelming counteraction capabilities and through visible strategic deterrent military actions,” the statement said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name. 

During Mr Austin’s visit, South Korea and the US revised a bilateral security agreement aimed at deterring North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the revision was necessary because the existing strategy did not adequately address rapid advancements in North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes.

North Korea has said the US and its allies were responsible for aggravating military tensions on the Korean peninsula, citing their large-scale military drills and the increased presence of US strategic assets in the region.

This week, the Pentagon announced that the State Department had approved a potential sale of Sidewinder missiles and the Standard Missile 6 Block I to South Korea, in a move it said would improve the security of the US’ major ally.

“The proposed sale will improve the Republic of Korea’s capability to meet current and future threats while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies,” the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement, using South Korea’s official name.

Mr Austin’s visit followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to South Korea last week.

In their back-to-back visits, the top US officials sought to provide reassurances on Washington’s commitment to the region, while voicing concerns over growing Russia-North Korea ties.

North Korea and Russia have denied any arms deals, though their leaders pledged closer military cooperation at their September summit.

On Tuesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin held talks with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa in San Francisco and agreed to continue cooperation to address North Korea’s nuclear threats, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. REUTERS