According to official media KCNA, North Korea’s defense ministry warned that it would respond if its sovereignty and security were infringed, accusing the US and South Korea of increasing surveillance operations along the inter-Korean border.
North Korea threatened “immediate action” in response to any violation of its border and air space and accused the US and South Korea of increasing aerial spying over the peninsula on Sunday.
The North Korean vice defense minister, Kim Kang Il, issued a statement in which he referred to the United States of America’s deployment of hundreds of military planes as “air espionage” against the DPRK.
In the statement, he added that the espionage actions detected throughout the 12 days were at a level beyond the wartime situation.
Additionally, he said that the South Korean Navy and Coast Guard were inflaming tensions by expanding their patrols and breaking the maritime border more frequently.
Kim slammed South Korea’s propaganda pamphlets distributed in balloons, describing them as a “dangerous provocation.”
South Korean activists and North Korean defectors often send food, medication, money, tiny radios, and USB drives with South Korean news and dramas in addition to anti-Pyongyang literature in balloons.
According to Kim’s statement, the puppet air forces of the United States and South Korea continue to deploy a variety of aircraft at all hours of the day and night, conducting aerial surveillance at a level similar to that of a war. He made it clear that “offensive” countermeasures would not be tolerated since such actions severely violate the security and sovereignty of North Korea.
Joint military drills between South Korea and its leading security partner, the United States, are regular occurrences; both countries justify the practice by claiming it is essential in the face of rising nuclear threats from North Korea.
North Korea has been known to respond to these types of training with weapon testing and live-fire exercises since it sees them as invasion preparations.
