North Korea has blown a fuse over President Donald Trump’s plan to build a “Golden Dome” to protect the United States from incoming missiles.
The North Korean foreign ministry said the U.S. was operating at “the height of self-righteousness [and] arrogance” with a plan which is “a typical product of ‘America first’” and could trigger “an outer space nuclear war scenario.”
Modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome, Trump’s Golden Dome project was unveiled on May 20 and, according to the administration, will cost $175 billion and take only three years to complete.
The Institute for American Studies of North Korea’s foreign ministry said, the White House is “hell-bent… to militarize outer space” and sparking “a global nuclear and space arms race,” the state KCNA news agency reported.
The Golden Dome system is designed to act as a shield for the U.S. by harnessing satellites around the world to identify and knock out incoming intercontinental missiles before they make landfall.
The Associated Press said it was aimed at stopping missiles from countries such as China, Iran, Russia, and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.
In 2022, Pyongyang said it had become a nuclear power after developing the missiles on home soil and in recent years the closed off state has tested a range of cruise and ballistic missiles.
The ambitious project has also triggered fears in China. Last week Beijing called for Washington to ditch the project, saying it was “seriously concerned” about the plan which has “strong offensive implications.”
“The United States, in pursuing a ‘US-first’ policy, is obsessed with seeking absolute security for itself. This violates the principle that the security of all countries should not be compromised and undermines global strategic balance and stability,” China’s foreign ministry said.
Trump has admitted that nobody has asked him to build the anti-missile defense system, but is ready to plow ahead anyway with Elon Musk emerging as the frontrunner to help make the project a reality.
