'Asian NATO' Being Developed Under Guise of Deterring North Korea, Russia's Envoy Says

SEOUL (Sputnik) - The strengthening of defense cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan under the guise of deterring North Korea can be considered as the basis for the establishment of "Asian NATO" that would be aimed against China and Russia, Russian Ambassador in Seoul Andrey Kulik has told Sputnik.

"In fact, under the guise of expanded deterrence of the 'North Korean threat,' there is a strengthening of the 'triangle' of the US-South Korea-Japan, which in the future can be seen as one of the cornerstones of the future 'Asian NATO.' Moreover, the bloc's headquarters in Brussels makes no secret of its plans to expand the alliance's area of responsibility to the Indo-Pacific region in order to deter China and Russia," the ambassador said.

Kulik noted that the three states have noticeably strengthened cooperation in defense and security and resumed various military exercises off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, citing the growing threat and "provocations" by North Korea as the reason.

In recent years, Pyongyang has been actively developing its missiles and nuclear capabilities. It conducted dozens of missile test launches in 2022 alone, firing several missiles at once on some occasions. Pyongyang has said that North Korea's military-related activities are in response to provocations by the US, South Korea, and Japan in the region.