Pyongyang slams Washington, Seoul for sending spy planes, drones, boats to North Korea
North Korea says the US and South Korea are deploying an increased number of planes, drones and boats to its territory for espionage, further escalating the already high tensions on the Korean peninsula.
"Even now, the US and South Korean puppet air forces are continuously mobilizing various aircraft with little or no time gap throughout the day, carrying out aerial reconnaissance activities at a level comparable to wartime situations," Kim Kang Il, Vice-Minister of National Defense of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said in a public a press statement on Saturday.
It was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), under the title "We Will Defend Sovereignty, Security and Interests of the State with Powerful Self-Defense Capacity".
Kim said South Korea's navy and coast guard are escalating military tensions by expanding patrols and breaching the maritime border among other "dangerous provocations" such as sending balloons containing anti-regime leaflets, and warned of "tit-for-tat action."
"We will act immediately when the nation's sovereignty and security interests are violated," Kim warned in the statement, adding, "Such hostile military espionage, together with various military drills, has become the root cause of ever-escalating regional military tensions."
He reiterated the North's military would "take necessary military measures".
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North Korea warns South Korea-US of consequences of joint military drills
Kim said the US had flown at least 16 of its RC-135 and U-2S strategic reconnaissance planes and RQ-4B drone over the Korean peninsula in a 10-day period in mid-May.
"Dangerous consequences will ensue from such frequent intrusions across our maritime border," he further warned.
Inter-Korean relations are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang declaring Seoul its "principal enemy."
Pyongyang has dismantled agencies dedicated to reunification and threatened war over "even 0.001 mm" of territorial infringement.
It has also voiced its opposition to joint military exercises that Washington and Seoul routinely conducted, regarding such drills as rehearsals for an invasion of the nuclear-armed North.
Pyongyang has continued to conduct weapons tests and live-fire counter-drills as part of its military development programs to defend its nation against its enemies.
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