South Korean authorities are "impudent and pitiful" for "talking loudly about reconciliation and cooperation between the north and the south" while buying more weapons from the United States, an unnamed policy research director at the Institute for American Studies of North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.
South Korea took delivery of its first two F-35 jets in March, with more slated to arrive this year. It has agreed to buy a total of 40 of the advanced aircraft, the last to be delivered by 2021.
North Korea's latest criticism of South Korea's military acquisition as an "extremely dangerous action which will trigger our reaction" comes as inter-Korean relations have stalled.
South Korean leader Moon Jae-in was left on the sidelines of a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump at the inter-Korean border in June, and there have been few signs that relations have improved.