On Monday, North Korea accused a US spy plane of violating its airspace and denounced US intentions to station a nuclear-powered submarine close to the Korean peninsula.
A representative for the Ministry of National Defence in the North claimed that US spy planes had flown in a “provocative” manner this month, with one reconnaissance jet violating its airspace “several times” over the East Sea.
“There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the U.S. Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea,” the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The representative recalled prior instances in which Pyongyang shot down US aircraft and issued a dire warning that the US will be held accountable for its “frantically staged” air espionage.
The planned transfer of US strategic nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula was denounced as “the most overt nuclear blackmail” and a serious threat to both regional and international security.
“The present situation clearly proves that the situation of the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the threshold of nuclear conflict due to the U.S. provocative military action,” it read.
Washington said in April that it would send a nuclear ballistic submarine to make the first visit to a South Korean port in decades, without specifying the timing.
This year, North Korea has violated international sanctions on a number of occasions, notably by test-firing some of its most potent intercontinental ballistic missiles and attempting to launch a military spy satellite in May.
In response, defense cooperation between the US and South Korea has increased. Joint military drills with cutting-edge stealth jets and prominent US strategic assets have been held.
