North Korea has complained that US spy planes are violating its airspace. The country has also threatened to shoot down the US spy plane in this incident. However, the United States did not immediately comment on this.
Reuters reported this information in a report on Monday.
In a warning message, the East Asian country said such flights could be shot down in case of airspace violations, even if Pyongyang exercises restraint.
A spokesman for North Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US’s provocative military action was bringing the Korean peninsula closer to nuclear conflict. North Korea’s official media outlet The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published this statement.
The report also cited the use of US surveillance planes and drones, and said Washington was raising tensions in the region by sending nuclear submarines near the Korean Peninsula, Reuters said.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman said, “There is no guarantee that there will not be an accident as tragic as the downing of a US Air Force strategic surveillance plane in the eastern waters of Korea.”
The statement also cited past incidents of US aircraft being shot down or intercepted near South Korea’s border and coast with North Korea. North Korea has often complained about US surveillance flights near the peninsula.
However, South Korea’s military has said that North Korea’s claims of airspace violations are not true. US air surveillance equipment conducts regular surveillance flights around the Korean Peninsula, they said.
South Korea’s military also said that US allies work together to monitor North Korea’s activities.