Seoul - Saba:
North Korea described US President Donald Trump's project to build a missile shield called "Golden Dome" as a "very dangerous" threat aimed at weaponizing space, according to the official news agency on Tuesday.
Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week, describing it as "very important to the success and even survival of our country."
The project faces significant technical and political challenges, according to analysts, and could be costly.
Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry issued a notice "informing the international community that the US establishment of a new missile defense system is an extremely dangerous 'threatening initiative' aimed at jeopardizing the strategic security of nuclear-armed states," according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
The agency said the notice, submitted by the ministry, accused the United States of being "intent on militarizing outer space."
The Foreign Ministry added that "the US plan to build a new missile defense system is the root cause of igniting a global nuclear and space arms race by raising the security concerns of nuclear-armed states and turning outer space into a potential nuclear war zone."
In recent years, Washington, Seoul's main security ally, has intensified joint military exercises with South Korea and increased the presence of US strategic assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to counter North Korea.
Despite the crippling economic sanctions still in place, North Korea declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power in 2022 and consistently denounces joint US-South Korean military exercises as rehearsals for invasion.
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