North Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday, 11 July sharply condemned the United States and its allies for what it called an 'intention for inter-camp confrontation' displayed at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit held in Ankara, Türkiye. A foreign ministry spokesperson issued a press statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), accusing the trans-Atlantic alliance of destabilising both Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

What North Korea Said

The spokesperson's statement described NATO as 'a war and confrontation body that goes against international peace and security in all parts of the world while pursuing exclusive geopolitical interests.' Pyongyang argued that the alliance's continued existence beyond the Cold War era lacks legitimate justification and that its 'reckless eastward advance policy' is the primary driver of European insecurity.

The statement further accused NATO of 'shifting its responsibility onto other countries' in the Asia-Pacific, a framing that positions the alliance as an external aggressor rather than a defensive body — a line Pyongyang has consistently maintained in its official communications.

Rejection of Denuclearisation Calls

The statement took direct aim at the joint call by the United States, Japan, and South Korea for North Korea's denuclearisation, dismissing it as having 'completely lost its timeliness and practical feasibility.' Pyongyang insisted the demand 'can never affect the position of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)', pointing to decades of failed pressure as its own vindication.

This is consistent with North Korea's long-standing posture of treating its nuclear arsenal as non-negotiable, a position that has hardened considerably since the collapse of the Hanoi Summit between Kim Jong-un and then-US President Donald Trump in 2019.

Deterrence Build-Up Signalled

In what analysts may read as a veiled warning, the statement declared that North Korea will 'build up at an accelerated pace the strength capable of deterring the enemy countries' attempts at collective confrontation and their military threats.' The language suggests Pyongyang views the Ankara summit's outcomes as a fresh justification for expanding its own military capabilities.

The statement described confrontation by allied forces as providing 'a realistic justification to the renewal and expansion of the physical deterrent' — signalling that any multilateral pressure is likely to accelerate, not slow, North Korea's weapons development.

Broader Context

The NATO summit in Ankara was notable for deepening cooperation between the alliance and its Indo-Pacific partners, including Japan, South Korea, and Australia. This expanded engagement has drawn repeated criticism from both North Korea and China, who view it as an attempt to transplant a Cold War bloc structure into the Asia-Pacific. This comes amid an already elevated security environment on the Korean Peninsula, with inter-Korean communication channels remaining largely frozen. Pyongyang's response to the summit is unlikely to shift the diplomatic calculus in the near term, but the explicit reference to accelerated deterrence build-up warrants close monitoring.