North Korea criticizes Rubio, says it will respond strongly to US provocations

SEOUL — North Korea on Monday criticized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for calling it a “rogue state” in a media interview, saying his comments do not help US interests, state media KCNA said.

North Korea’s foreign ministry said the country will respond strongly to hostile US provocations, KCNA reported.

It is North Korea’s first criticism of the Trump administration since President Donald J. Trump reentered the White House on Jan. 20, Yonhap news agency said.

The ministry also condemned United States’ new missile defense shield plan, saying that it makes it necessary for North Korea to strengthen its own military power, KCNA reported.

Mr. Trump last week signed an order that “mandated a process to develop an ‘American Iron Dome,’” a next-generation US missile defense shield against ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missile and other forms of aerial attack.

“The idea of a new missile defense system, which recalls the specter of the dangerous ‘Star Wars’ plan of… the Cold War, poses a risk of justifying an arms race under the pretext of coping with the ‘threat’ of adversaries, regardless of its feasibility,” North Korea’s foreign ministry said, according to KCNA.

“The increasingly harsh global security environment urgently calls for us to constantly develop self-defense capabilities based on nuclear deterrence.” — Reuters