North Korea warns US allies Australia, Britain, Germany, France to stop using UN sanctions as excuse to interfere

• Pyongyang on Monday warned the UK, Canada, Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia to immediately stop their 'blatant military intervention'
• The foreign ministry vowed to protect North Korea's sovereignty against US allies using 'the pretext of monitoring violation of UN sanctions'

North Korea has warned allies of the United States, including Germany, France and Britain, to stop provoking regional tensions.

The foreign ministry on Monday denounced "military interference" and what it called increased surveillance of North Korea by US allies "under the pretext of monitoring violation of UN sanctions", in a statement carried by state-controlled news agency KCNA.

Pyongyang called for the UK, Canada, Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia to immediately stop their "blatant military intervention in the Asia-Pacific" by using UN sanctions as an excuse, in the foreign ministry statement.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will take necessary measures to thoroughly protect its sovereignty and safety" concerning such surveillance, KCNA said without elaborating, using North Korea's official name.

"Western countries should ponder over the fact that their unreasonable and blind policy of following the US is an act of harming their own interests."

South Korea and Britain carried out joint maritime patrols in waters near the Korean peninsula in April to enforce UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea, South Korea's defence ministry said at the time. The US also held a two-day training exercise involving the navies of South Korea and Japan last month.

Earlier this month, an Australian helicopter surveying North Korea was intercepted by a Chinese warplane in international airspace, while a Canadian plane was intercepted in similar circumstances in October.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited arms factories on Saturday and Sunday, personally inspecting weapons such as sniper rifles and rocket launchers, KCNA said on Monday.

Kim, accompanied by high-ranking officials including his powerful sister Kim Yo-jong, praised the quality of the weapons and called for the factories to implement production plans without fail, KCNA said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are very high. Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has significantly increased the scope of its weapons tests, including the testing of nuclear-capable missiles, and has stepped up its rhetoric against the US and South Korea, both of which Pyongyang considers to be enemy states.

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