G7 a 'club of war,' not economy: North Korea state media

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Group of Seven (G7) has transformed into a “club of war” and is no longer a club of economy, North Korean state-run media reported Friday, rejecting any reference that the bloc represents the international community.

Calling G7 a "war contractor group,” Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary any “interference” by the bloc in the Korean Peninsula meant the military “expansion of NATO, the global war alliance.”

It was reacting to a meeting of G7 defense ministers in Italy, the first of its kind, which North Korea said was “unfit for its mission and duty.”

G7 defense ministers met last Saturday in Italy as tensions rise in the Middle East and the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.

The meeting, attended by defense ministers from the US, Germany, France, Canada, UK, Italy, and Japan, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, commenced in Naples, the southern Italian city, which is also home to a NATO base.

However, KCNA accused Western countries of “working hard to make the flames of war in Europe spill over” into Asia while claiming the security of two continents was “inseparable.”

It also charged the G7 of “inciting” inter-camp confrontation by making “reckless remarks that the framework of international security has been plunged into graver danger by independent and sovereign states (such) as North Korea, Russia and China.”​​​​​​​

Reacting to South Korea’s participation in NATO summits as well as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s phone call with Secretary General Rutte over Pyongyang’s cooperation with Russia, it said Western countries, NATO member states, and member states of G7, which are part of US-led UN Command “are directly involved in the war drills for aggression against” North Korea.

UN Command overseas armistice along the Demilitarized Zone between divided Koreas from the southern side of the border.

Yoon spoke to Rutte early this week to discuss the alleged deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed or denied the claims, but Russia called it "fake" and exaggerated news.

Russian parliament Thursday also ratified a treaty with North Korea, triggering a sharp reaction from Seoul with "grave concerns."

South Korea has said it will consider sending arms to Ukraine in response to the increasing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.