North Korean media slam South's deployment of stealth fighter jets
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An F-35A stealth fighter jet arrives at an air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, March 29. Courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration
By Jung Da-min
North Korea's media criticized the Republic of Korea Air Force's recent deployment of F-35A stealth fighter jets, saying it went against efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.
On March 29, two F-35As arrived at a military air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, marking the first delivery of a total of 40 F-35As ordered by the South Korean government from U.S. aerospace and defense giant, Lockheed Martin.
North Korean websites Uriminzokkiri and Arirang-Meari in articles published on Sunday and Monday, respectively, introduced the F-35A as a state-of-the-art weapon. The propaganda outlets also claimed the South's plan to deploy it was a hostile act that heightened military tension on the Korean Peninsula, comparing it to actions taken by the administration of former President Park Geun-hye.
“We pledged to cooperate with the South Korean authorities to open up a new era of peace, and made our stance clear that joint military exercises as well as bringing in war equipment from outside ― sources of intensification of military tension in the Korean Peninsula ― should be ceased completely,” stated Uriminzokkiri.
“Nevertheless, it is a treachery that [the South] is bringing in war equipment that Park Geun-hye had planned during the era of confrontation, which goes against the historical inter-Korean declarations and military agreements.”
On Sept. 19 last year, the two Koreas signed the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) to reduce tensions and prevent accidental clashes, as part of the Panmunjeom Declaration reached by the leaders of the two Koreas at their first summit held at the truce village of Panmunjeom in April.
But the inter-Korean joint war remains excavation project under the CMA has now been stalled, with the North not responding to the South's requests for a list of North Korean personnel for the project scheduled to start in April.
On April 1, the Ministry of National Defense resumed clearing landmines and explosives in the area of the Military Demarcation Line independently, saying it would wait on the North's response.
North Korea has so far remained silent on the issue.
But the North's propaganda media have criticized the South's military over its joint exercises with the U.S., including Max Thunder and Vigilant Ace, scheduled to be held in May and December, respectively.