North Korea threatened to shoot down any US spy plane that violates its airspace on Monday. It condemned Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear-armed submarine near the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean Ministry of Defense spokesperson stated that the United States has "intensified its spying activities to levels even surpassing those during wartime."
They accused US spy planes of conducting "provocative" flights for eight consecutive days this month and repeatedly violating North Korean airspace over the East Sea.
The Korean Central News Agency quoted the official spokesperson as saying, "There is no guarantee that a shocking incident like shooting down a strategic reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the US Air Force in the East Sea of Korea will not occur."
The spokesperson referred to previous incidents when Pyongyang had shot down US aircraft, warning that the United States would pay the price for its "systematic and organized" aerial espionage.
The statement also criticized the planned deployment of US strategic nuclear assets in the Korean Peninsula, considering it as "blatant nuclear blackmail" against North Korea.
It emphasized that this deployment seriously threatens regional and global security.
Furthermore, the statement asserted, "the current situation demonstrates that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is approaching the threshold of a nuclear conflict due to provocative US military activities."