N Korea-naval power

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday denounced what it called a U.S.-led naval buildup and nuclear submarine programs, warning it would counter the growing naval threat with unspecified "action."

Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Arms build-up of the U.S. and its vassal allies for seizing a maritime edge in the Asia-Pacific region has emerged as a new dangerous factor seriously disturbing regional peace and security," Kim said.

He described nuclear submarine programs in South Korea, Japan and Australia as the "detailed implementation" of a new U.S. security strategy aimed at "securing the maritime hegemony."

"This has become a root cause of seriously undermining the strategic balance in the region and sparking off a new arms race," he claimed.

The enemies' naval buildup and the threat it poses to its security are "a very grave challenge," he said, and the North's response "will not be merely confined to denouncing it."

"We will deter all threats by action and flexing of its bolstered muscle," he warned.

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