NATO, US, Japan, South Korea alliance 'cancerous tumours' of world order: North Korea

The alliance between the US, Japan and South Korea and the Western military bloc NATO is a 'cancerous tumour' of the world order, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Im Chon Il said, according to the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 

"The military alliance of the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea, which is exposing hostile designs against North Korea and its neighbouring countries, as well as NATO, the instigator of the Ukraine crisis, are cancerous tumours endangering the international order and posing a serious threat to world peace and security," the DPRK diplomat asserted. 

'No right to accuse independent states trying to counter imperialist threats': DPRK diplomat

The senior diplomat of North Korea lambasted the US' goals of global hegemony, saying that it is focussed on uniting with allies to maintain its posture. Washington has no right to accuse independent states of trying to counter its imperialist threat, Chon Il was quoted as saying. He asserted that the US-led alliances pose a security threat and are a grave danger to the world. The US poses a security threat to the independent states by taking actions of an "aggressive and chauvinistic nature," the diplomat iterated. 

US, Japan and South Korea have recently stepped up trilateral cooperation in order to make the world safer and the three countries stronger, US President Joe Biden said at the trilateral summit held at Camp David, Maryland in August. The trilateral cooperation "reaffirms that the three countries can deliver security and prosperity for our people, the Indo-Pacific region and the world," US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin stressed. Biden hailed the political courage of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, adding that the two are US' indispensable allies. NATO, meanwhile also announced that it is strengthening dialogue and cooperation with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, and the Republic of Korea. 

"In today’s complex security environment, relations with like-minded partners across the globe are increasingly important to address cross-cutting security issues and global challenges. The Indo-Pacific is important for the Alliance, given that developments in that region can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security," the Alliance noted in a statement. 

Japan's government also previously acknowledged NATO's plan of opening the first ever Asian US-led military bloc's liaison office in Tokyo, which the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said was aimed at facilitating the consultations. Japan acknowledged the adoption of NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept, which refers to the importance of the Indo-Pacific. By mid-April, the military alliance circulated a draft proposal among its 31 members about establishing an office.