North Korea Warns US Over Taiwan Arms Sales

On October 7, 2026, North Korea's KCNA published a commentary by Kim Myong Chol titled U.S. Is Acting Rashly condemning U.S. Taiwan arms sales after the first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets from a 2019 $8 billion deal arrived in Taiwan last week. Kim said the U.S. had systematically destroyed regional stability in the Taiwan Strait, called the jet delivery a shameless act of planting a bomb at another's gate, claimed decade-long arms sales exceeded $39 billion, and said Taiwan is an internal Chinese affair. He warned Washington to think twice about frontal confrontation with China and said Taiwan's return to China is a matter of time. Kim Jong Un backed the One China principle at a June 2026 meeting with Xi Jinping in Pyongyang. Separately, Kim sent a birthday message to Vladimir Putin pledging continued strategic partnership and calling Russia's war a sacred war of justice, without naming Ukraine. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 troops to support Russia since 2024, per Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, after a June 2024 mutual defence pact. Pyongyang has conducted more than 10 missile launches this year, including an Oct. 3 intermediate-range test supervised by Kim that South Korea said traveled more than 700 kilometers. No factual disputes appear in the record.