North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman said as much to a question posed by KCNA, the state news agency reported on Sunday. “The reality clearly shows that the real purpose of the US spreading the rumor about the ‘North Korean threat’ is to provide an excuse to achieve military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region,” the spokesman said. “The prevailing situation calls more urgently for building up the country’s defenses to actively counter the rapidly deteriorating security environment,” the spokesman added. The leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan met on the sidelines of a NATO summit last week and agreed to explore further means to strengthen “extended deterrence” against North Korea. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
