North Korea's foreign ministry weighed in on US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, describing it as US "impudent interference" in China's internal affairs, Reuters reported, citing North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said they "vehemently denounce" any external force's interference in the issue of Taiwan and "fully support" China, its major ally and economic lifeline.
"It is the due right of a sovereign state to take counter measures against the moves of the outside forces openly interfering in its internal affairs and destroying its territorial integrity," the unidentified official was quoted by KCNA as saying.
"The impudent interference of the US in the internal affairs of other countries and its intentional political and military provocations are, indeed, the root cause of harassed peace and security in the region. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and the issue of Taiwan pertains to the internal affairs of China," the official added.
Pelosi landed in Taiwan for an official visit Tuesday, as part of a tour she and a congressional delegation are taking of eastern Asia this week.
The last time a Speaker of the House visited Taiwan was in 1997, when Newt Gingrich was Speaker during the Clinton Administration.
The visit raised the ire of China, which said Pelosi’s visit to the island nation would cross a red line and could provoke a military response.
Later, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns to protest Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
North Korea’s comments on the visit come amid its own tensions with the US.
North Korea has conducted more than a dozen weapons tests since January, including the firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.
The country has ramped up its missile tests ever since talks with Washington on denuclearization failed.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country is ready to mobilize its nuclear war deterrent and for any military clash with the United States.