North Korea criticizes US shipment of missiles to Ukraine as 'mean' policy

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jimmy Lerma, crew chief for Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade, adjusts the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for loading on to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at Williamson Airfield in Queensland, Australia, in this July 26, 2023 file photo provided by the U.S. Army. AP-Yonhap

North Korea condemned the United States on Monday for sending longer-range tactical missiles to Ukraine for use in its fight against Russia, claiming that Washington cannot turn the tide of the war with such a "mean" policy.

The White House confirmed last week that the U.S. has sent a "significant" number of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) missiles to Ukraine for use inside the Ukrainian territory following Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Kyiv.

An unnamed director at the foreign military affairs department of North Korea's defense ministry issued a statement denouncing Washington as a "harasser" of peace that has been aggravating the war by providing Ukraine with such weapons, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Long-range missiles offered by the U.S. will never tip the scale in favor of Ukraine on the battlefield but result in fanning the reckless confrontational hysteria of the Zelenskyy puppet clique," read the English-language statement carried by the KCNA.

The official said the U.S. has adopted a "mean" policy of offering such long-range missiles for use against Russia in a bid to tip the scales of the war.

"The U.S. can never defeat the heroic Russian army and people with any latest weaponry or military support," the North's official said.

North Korea is among a few countries that have expressed its support for Russia in the war with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow have been deepening military ties following the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year. (Yonhap)