The US and South Korea are allegedly utilizing a lot of spy ships and planes close to the Korean border, according to the North Korean Defence Ministry.
North Korea’s vice minister of defense, Kim Kang-il, said on Friday that the military leadership of the nation ordered its forces to get ready to launch an offensive against any invasion of its sovereignty.
“We officially warn that we can never tolerate such continued encroachment on our maritime sovereignty and that we may exercise our self-defensive power on or under the water at any moment,” Kim declared.
Kim claims that the US flew at least 16 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, including RQ-4B drones and RC-135 and U-2S planes, over the Korean peninsula between May 13 and May 24. Additionally, he charged that the coast guard and navy of South Korea had increased their patrols and crossed the maritime border.
Kim stressed that, with different aircraft mobilized continuously throughout the day, the US and South Korean “puppet air forces” had been conducting aerial reconnaissance activities at a level akin to that of a war. He referred to these latest US and South Korean actions as “hostile military espionage,” emphasizing the fact that they are raising military tensions in the region.
“If any incident occurs on the sea, the Republic of Korea will be held wholly accountable for its violation of the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK in disregard of its warning,” Kim asserted. Additionally, North Korea stated that South Korean navy and maritime police warships often breach their maritime border using a variety of justifications, including mobile patrols.
“Such frequent intrusion across our maritime border will entail a dangerous consequence,” Kim warned. The de facto Yellow Sea borders South Korea, but North Korea does not, and it is known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which he again emphasized has never been crossed by Pyongyang. Although Pyongyang maintains that it has consistently recognized the current border, it has often urged that the NLL be redrawn further south.