Seoul, 7 October, 2026 (Nosheen): North Korea has criticised the United States over its arms sales and military support for Taiwan, accusing Washington of increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, state news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday. A KCNA commentary citing North Korean international affairs analyst Kim Myong Chol said US policy towards Taiwan was undermining regional peace and stability and condemned the deployment of US-supplied fighter aircraft to Taiwan. The commentary warned that Washington should consider whether it was prepared to confront China directly over Taiwan and deal with the consequences. Taiwan recently received the first two of 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets ordered from the United States in 2019 amid growing military pressure from Beijing. North Korea’s latest comments reflect its increasingly close alignment with China on Taiwan, one of Beijing’s most sensitive foreign policy issues. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taipei rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. North Korea has also strengthened ties with China and Russia in recent years, raising security concerns in the United States and among its allies in Asia and the West. During a summit in Pyongyang in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Chinese President Xi Jinping that Pyongyang would fully support the “One China” principle. Kim has also pledged continued support for Russia and its war effort in a birthday message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a separate KCNA report. Kim said North Korea would continue joint work with Russia under their comprehensive strategic partnership and expressed confidence that Russia’s “sacred war of justice” to defend its sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity would end in victory. The message did not explicitly mention Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukrainian and South Korean estimates suggest that North Korea has sent between 14,000 and 15,000 troops to support Russia in the conflict since 2024. North Korea and Russia have significantly strengthened their ties since signing a mutual defence pact in June 2024.