North Korea ratcheted up tensions by accusing US spy planes of violating its airspace and threatening to shoot them down.
North Korea Threatens US: The US is bringing a nuclear-armed submarine to the peninsula, according to a spokesman for North Korea’s defence ministry, and conducting “hostile espionage activities” by flying spy planes off its east and west coasts, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
According to North Korea, drones and surveillance planes violated its airspace by flying for eight straight days around its coasts. The official stated, “We cannot guarantee that a shocking accident like the downing of the US Air Force Strategic Reconnaissance Plane will not happen.”
That seems to be a reference to North Korea shooting down a US Navy spy plane in 1969, killing all 31 aboard, which the Americans said was doing so in international airspace between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The spokesman for the defence ministry further stated that Pyongyang would take steps to stop Washington’s “reckless acts.”
NATO gathering
The government of Kim Jong Un has occasionally launched ballistic missiles in a fit of rage after issuing threats. A few minutes after KCNA’s transmission from a Defence Ministry spokesman criticising joint US-South Korean military drills and threatening reprisal, it launched two short-range nuclear-capable rockets last month.
As South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the most recent threats raise concerns. In an interview with the Associated Press, Yoon stated that he would turn to the heads of NATO for advice on how to stop Pyongyang from stepping up its nuclear aspirations.
Yoon and other leaders from South Korea, which is not a member of NATO, will be there as the alliance and its allies concentrate on supporting Ukraine.
The military of South Korea denied the most recent allegations, stating it was false for North Korea to allege that the aerial reconnaissance aircraft had invaded its airspace. Since many years ago, the US has conducted airborne surveillance flights close to North Korea, and a network of spy satellites is constantly monitoring its key infrastructure.
At a summit in April in Washington, Yoon and President Joe Biden decided to send more US nuclear assets to the area. Kim was forewarned by the American president that if he launched a nuclear attack, his government would fall.
Six Lessons from Yoon’s Visit to the White House in South Korea
For the first time in six years, the US sent a nuclear-powered guided missile submarine to South Korea in June as a show of force to dissuade North Korea from launching an attack. According to Yonhap News Agency, it intends to dispatch another one shortly.
Over the past 18 months, North Korea has launched more than 90 ballistic missiles as Kim develops new weaponry to launch a nuclear attack on the US mainland and America’s key regional allies, South Korea and Japan.