North Korea accused the US of violating its airspace by flying surveillance missions
Pyongyang stated that it was exercising restraint because US jets could be shot down.
The United States’ provocative military activities are moving the Korean peninsula closer to nuclear war, according to a spokesman for North Korea’s Ministry of National Defence, according to a statement broadcast by the KCNA news agency.
The statement also stated that Washington’s deployment of surveillance aircraft and drones is heightening tensions, accusing Washington of putting nuclear submarines near the peninsula.
“There is no guarantee that such a shocking accident, like the downing of a US Air Force jet, will not happen” in waters east of Korea, according to the official.
The statement also mentioned previous events in which the North shot down or intercepted American jets near the border.
North Korea frequently complains about US surveillance planes near the peninsula.
The US troops stationed in South Korea did not respond immediately.
The South Korean military denied the North’s accusations that its airspace had been violated.
According to the military in Seoul, US surveillance assets have been performing routine surveillance flights over the peninsula, and the allies are cooperating closely to monitor the North.
According to KCNA, the deployment of US strategic nuclear assets on the Korean Peninsula is the “most heinous nuclear attack” against North Korea and other states in the region, and it poses a huge threat to peace, according to Pyongyang.
This year, South Korean and US military have conducted air and naval exercises.
These exercises have also included aircraft carriers and heavy bombers. Similarly, an American nuclear submarine took part in the exercise last month.
South Korean and US authorities agreed in April to send a US nuclear submarine into South Korean seas for the first time since the 1980s.
The deployment of the submarine in South Korean waters is part of Washington’s efforts to better respond to threats from North Korea, which has repeatedly conducted weapons tests.
