WW3 fears as Kim Jong-un warns of chilling new nuclear arms race over Australia sub deal… – The Sun

WORLD War Three fears are mounting after Kim Jong-un warned of a chilling new nuclear arms race over Australia's submarine pact with America and Britain.

The North Korean dictator slammed the "double standards" of the United States and vowed to retaliate after Joe Biden signed a historic deal to build Australia's first nuclear submarine fleet.

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Kim said the pact was an "extremely" dangerous move which would destroy the security balance in the Asia-Pacific and set off a terrifying nuclear arms race.

According to the official KCNA news agency, North Korea's foreign ministry said: "These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of nuclear arms race."

The ministry said North Korea was closely examining the deal and vowed counter-measures if it has "even a little adverse impact on the security of our country".

The rogue state suspended its testing of nuclear bombs and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles in 2018 when Kim held talks with former President Donald Trump.

The nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of a second Trump-Kim meeting in 2019.

But North Korea has continued testing shorter range weapons, threatening South Korea and Japan in a bid to pressure the Biden administration over the stalled diplomacy.

And last week, Kim unveiled the country's latest missile launch system - from a train.

The state announced it had tested its "railway-borne missile system" with warheads flying 497 miles before striking a target in the sea.

Kim is also said to be accelerating his bid for nuclear war after satellite pictures suggested he is "ramping up his production of uranium".

The show of strength came as the historic new military partnership between Britain, America and Australia was unveiled last week.

Dubbed AUKUS, the alliance will see the three powers cooperate on building Australia's first nuclear submarine fleet of at least eight vessels.

The pact between Britain, America and Australia is seen as a direct response to thegrowing threat posed by China in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

China hit back and slammed Britain and America for "aggravating an arms race", while warning Australia will become a "potential target for a nuclear strike".

The Communist regimes Washington DC embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu accused the nations of adopting a "Cold War mentality" like the terrifying nuke stand-off between the US and the Soviet Union in the 20th century.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the agreement "seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race".

He said: "The export of highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology by the United States and Britain to Australia once again proves that they use nuclear exports as a tool of geopolitical games and adopt double standards, which is extremely irresponsible."

He added that the deal gave regional countries "reason to question Australia's sincerity in abiding by its nuclear non-proliferation commitments".

He urged the Western allies to "abandon their outdated Cold War zero-sum thinking" or risk "shooting themselves in the foot".

The alliance is seen as a bid to offset the Beijing's growing economic and military reach in the Asia-Pacific region.

Asian superpowers are pouring billions into new aircraft carriers, submarines and state-of-the-art missile systems in a frightening display of military might.

China alone has ploughed an extra 1.35 trillion yuan (151 billion) into military spending this year - a modest 6.8 per cent increase - as it seeks to extend its claim over territory in the South China Sea.

The agreement seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race.

The rising superpower also boasts of having DF-26 missiles that could knock out targets across South East Asia with deadly precision and speed.

It is busy building "at least 250 long range missile silos" in three locations sparking fears a new nuclear arms race is underway.

A third missile silo field in a remote area in Inner Mongolia has reportedly been photographed by a European Space Agency satellite as Beijing launches its largest ever nuke expansion.

Peter Jennings, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, said Australia's decision to acquire nuclear submarines was a response to this.

He said: "We should call the first submarine in this new category the Xi Jinping, because no person is more responsible for Australia going down this track than the current leader of the Chinese Communist Party."

And last Wednesday, South Korea became the first non-nuclear nation to fire ballistic missiles from a submarine, hours after North Korea launched theirs.

In the same week, Fumio Kishida, the man tipped to be Japan's next prime minister, said his nation should acquire preemptive military kit such as fighter jets or missiles that can take out enemy missiles on the ground before they've launched.

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WW3 fears as Kim Jong-un warns of chilling new nuclear arms race over Australia sub deal... - The Sun