N. Korea warns of action against US spy plane's 'intrusion'
The North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, Liaoning province, China, April 20, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap
North Korea accused the United States, Friday, of flying a surveillance aircraft into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) before being chased off by its warplanes earlier this week and threatened to take action to guard its sovereignty.
The accusation by the spokesperson of the General Staff Department of the North's Korean People's Army came as the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan were set to meet for a trilateral summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, the same day.
North Korea claimed a U.S. military spy aircraft "intruded" in the area over its EEZ three times between 5:38 and 6:37 a.m. Thursday to conduct what it claimed to be "aerial surveillance activity," according to the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The North scrambled military jets, and the U.S. aircraft retreated at around 7:15 a.m., it added.
Calling the move a "dangerous military provocation" that occurred just 20 days after a similar incident, the North Korean military said it has made clear that the area over the EEZ is "part of its territory" and that it is ready to take any action to guard the country's sovereignty.
The North also said it is considering placing a missile-carrying vessel to deter further intrusion by U.S. surveillance aircraft in the area, according to the KCNA.
The announcement came before a planned summit among South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during which Seoul officials said the leaders will adopt a document committing each side to consult with one another in the event of a common security or other threat in the face of Pyongyang's growing missile and nuclear provocations. (Yonhap)