North Korea has slammed US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield plan as a “very dangerous” threat that aims to weaponise space, state media reported on Tuesday.

Pyongyang’s foreign ministry has issued a memorandum calling the system “a very dangerous ‘threatening initiative’ aimed at threatening the strategic security of the nuclear weapons states,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week, calling it “very important for the success and even survival of our country”.

The initiative faces significant technical and political challenges, according to analysts, and could come at a hefty price tag.

Projectiles launched by Israel’s Iron Dome system intercept rockets fired from Gaza in October 2023. Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ plan gets its name from Israel’s air-defence system. Photo: AP

Projectiles launched by Israel’s Iron Dome system intercept rockets fired from Gaza in October 2023. Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ plan gets its name from Israel’s air-defence system. Photo: AP

The memorandum by nuclear-armed North Korea accused the United States of being “hell-bent on the moves to militarise outer space”, KCNA said.

“The US plan for building a new missile defence system is the root cause of sparking off global nuclear and space arms race by stimulating the security concerns of nuclear weapons states and turning the outer space into a potential nuclear war field,” it added.