North Korea accuses US of violating airspace, condemns move to deploy nuclear missile submarine

North Korea on Monday accused the United States of violating its airspace by carrying out surveillance flights and stated that, even though Pyongyang was exercising restraint, and warned it may shoot down such flights.

It further condemned the plans of Washington of deploying a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula. North Korea's Ministry of National Defence spokesperson said "provocative" flights were flown by US spy aircraft this month, as one reconnaissance plane intruded into the country's airspace over the East Sea "several times".

"There is no guarantee that such a shocking accident as the downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," said the spokesperson in a statement, released by the official Korean Central News Agency.

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The spokesperson mentioned the past incidents when US aircraft were shot down by Pyongyang and warned that Washington will pay for its "frantically staged" air espionage.

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'Nuclear blackmail'

In the statement, it slammed United States' plan to deploy strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula as "the most undisguised nuclear blackmail" to North Korea which poses a grave threat to global and regional 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 US provocative military action," it stated.

"Whether the extreme situation, desired by nobody, is created or not on the Korean peninsula depends on the future action of the US, and if any sudden situation happens ... the US will be held totally accountable for it," it added.

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In April, Washington stated that a nuclear ballistic submarine will be sent to them to visit a port in South Korea in decades. Multiple sanctions-busting launches have been conducted by North Korea this year, which includes test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles and trying to put a military spy satellite into orbit in May.

South Korea and the United States recently ramped up defence co-operation as they staged joint military exercises with high-profile US strategic assets and advanced stealth jets.

A US B-52 strategic had participated in air military drills with South Korea in June in a show of force after the failed launch of a North Korea's spy satellite in May.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stated it was time to show "the international community’s determination to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme is stronger than North Korea’s desire to develop nuclear weapons.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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