North Korea warns US over Taiwan fighter deliveries and arms support

North Korean state media criticised US arms sales and military support for Taiwan on 7 October 2026, after the island took delivery of its first new F-16V Block 70 fighters, and warned Washington to consider the consequences of a confrontation with China over Taiwan's security.

A Korean Central News Agency commentary citing international affairs analyst Kim Myong Chol said US policy on Taiwan was undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, according to Reuters reporting carried by Nikkei Asia and corroborating coverage by Taiwan News and Asia News Network. Nikkei Asia timed the Seoul dateline report at 09:53 Japan Standard Time on 7 October, which was 03:53 on 7 October in Europe/Istanbul (TRT).

The commentary condemned the appearance of US-sold fighter aircraft in Taiwan and said the United States should think twice about whether it is ready to stand in frontal confrontation with China for Taiwan's security and whether it can cope with the consequences, the reports said.

Taiwan received the first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets ordered in 2019 last week, as Beijing continues to claim the democratically governed island as its territory and presses it with military activity around the strait. The deliveries have already drawn Chinese opposition; Pyongyang's line closely tracked Beijing's framing that outside arms support fuels tension.

Taiwan News reported that Kim questioned Washington's willingness to confront China for Taiwan's security and cited plans for another US$14 billion in weapons, saying US sales to Taiwan had surpassed US$39 billion over the past decade. The commentary described those sales as obstacles to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and echoed Beijing's position that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair for the Chinese people alone to resolve.

Separately on the same day, KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged continued support for Russia in a birthday message to President Vladimir Putin, saying Pyongyang would expand work under their comprehensive strategic partnership and that Russia's sacred war of justice to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity would end in victory. The message did not name Ukraine. Ukrainian and South Korean estimates put North Korean troop deployments to support Russia's war since 2024 at roughly 14,000 to 15,000.

The Taiwan warning does not announce a new North Korean military deployment near the island. It does show Pyongyang aligning publicly with Beijing's objections to US fighter deliveries and pending arms packages just as Taiwan begins inducting the Block 70 jets and Washington weighs further sales.