(RightWing.org) – In February 2023, the Pentagon, at the orders of President Joe Biden, shot down a spy balloon that had traveled the width of the country, just off the coast of the Carolinas. When it was downed, officials recovered what it said was spy equipment and pointed to China as the vessel’s operator, saying it was carrying out surveillance. Now, North Korea is accusing the United States of doing the same thing — and it’s issued a dire warning.
The Accusations
On Monday, July 10, North Korea’s foreign policy official, and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued a statement accusing the United States of violating its airspace. She said a US spy plane traveled into her country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) eight times before North Korea scrambled jets to drive it off. Such intrusions into the area are barred, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Kim Yo-jong referred to it as “aerial espionage.” Should the US engage in future flights of the same kind, the country would take “resolute actions” and said there was “no guarantee that such shocking accident as [the] downing of” the planes wouldn’t happen.
Washington’s Response
In response to the allegations, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said it was “just accusations.” She assured the media that the US “remains committed to safely and responsibly […] operating anywhere that international law allows.”
The US State Department took things a bit further and warned North Korea that it shouldn’t favor “escalatory actions” over diplomacy. Washington also noted that the flights into the EEZ were done in accordance with international law because they don’t fall within territorial boundaries.
South Korea came to the US defense, too. Its military affirmed that the flights to carry out reconnaissance are typical, nothing new. The two countries have worked to strengthen their alliance and have taken a harder approach to dealing with North Korea, which is why the number of flights has increased since President Yoon Suk Yeol assumed office in May 2022.
Are There Other Reasons Behind the Threats?
A spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said there might be another meaning behind its neighbor’s statements. He believes the country is “building up pretext for provocation,” which might have something to do with the upcoming holiday — Victory Day.
Even further, security experts have chimed in and said that North Korea may have other reasons for deploying Kim Jong-un’s sister, who is known for issuing various types of threats and is widely believed to be seriously feared in the nation. With foreign leaders gathering during the NATO summits, it often leads to increased defiance, particularly when condemning North Korea’s actions is at the top of the list.
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