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PARIS – France yesterday condemned the adoption by North Korea of a law declaring its readiness to launch preventive nuclear strikes as a “threat to international and regional peace and security”.
The Foreign Ministry’s statement came after North Korean state media reported yesterday that Pyongyang had passed a law allowing for preventive strikes – including in the face of conventional attacks.
“This new escalation on the part of the North Korean authorities represents a threat to international and regional peace and security,” said a ministry spokesman.
France “notes with great concern the increasingly aggressive declarations from North Korea”, she added.
The move by Pyongyang effectively eliminates the possibility of denuclearisation talks, with leader Kim Jong-un having said that the country’s status as a nuclear state is now “irreversible”.
The announcement comes at a time of heightened tension between the North and South.
Pyongyang has blamed Seoul for the outbreak of Covid-19 in its territory and conducted a record number of weapons tests this year. – AFP, September 10, 2022