Answer of Chief of Foreign News Section of Department of Press and Information of DPRK Foreign Ministry

Pyongyang, September 20 (KCNA) -- The chief of the Foreign News Section of the Department of Press and Information of the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA on Sept. 20 as regards the fact that the U.S. decided to transfer the technology of building a nuclear-powered submarine to Australia:

The U.S. has recently struck the trilateral security partnership with Britain and Australia, and decided to transfer the technology of building a nuclear-powered submarine to Australia. These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of nuclear arms race.

It is quite natural that neighboring countries including China condemned these actions as irresponsible ones of destroying the peace and stability of the region and the international nuclear non-proliferation system and of catalyzing the arms race.

Even a U.S. ally called the U.S. move a "brutal, unilateral and unpredictable decision" and "a stab in the back."

That the spokesperson for the White House said the decision is for "security of the Indo-Pacific region" amounts to a stand that any country can spread nuclear technology if it is in its interests, and this shows that the U.S. is the chief culprit toppling the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

The U.S. double-dealing attitude getting all the more pronounced after the emergence of the new administration erodes the universally accepted international norm and order and seriously threatens the world peace and stability.

The prevailing situation shows once again that bolstering the capabilities for national defence from a long-term perspective should not be slackened even a bit in order to cope with the ever-changing international security environment.

We are closely looking into the background of the U.S. recent decision and its prospect and will certainly take a corresponding counteraction in case it has even a little adverse impact on the security of our country. -