North Korea should focus on its citizens’ welfare rather than building up its nuclear arsenal, said Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, after Pyongyang warned that Australia was “coming in range” of a nuclear strike.
Speaking to the Australian Associated Press, Ms. Bishop accused North Korea of undermining peace and security in the Asia-Pacific.
“North Korea’s threats of nuclear strikes against other nations further underlines the need for the regime to abandon its illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, ” she told AAP on Sunday.
“These present a grave threat to its neighbors and if left unchecked, to the broader region including Australia.
“The North Korean government should invest in the welfare of its long-suffering citizens, rather than weapons of mass destruction, ” she added.
At a meeting with her Japanese counterpart in Tokyo last week, Ms. Bishop said that Australia supported the “United States’ approach that all options [will be on] the table with regard to curbing North Korea’s illegal and belligerent behavior, ” prompting a furious response from the North Korean government.
