2023-07-10 03:24:22
North Korea has warned the US about sending a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine to South Korea. The US plans to bring a strategic nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads to the Korean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said in Pyongyang on Monday. A spokesman for the state-controlled media was quoted as saying that the move could “practically trigger the worst crisis in a nuclear conflict”.
He also accused the United States of “blatant nuclear blackmail.” In view of heightened tensions with North Korea, the United States and its ally South Korea agreed in April to strengthen their military cooperation. This includes a more visible deployment of US strategic weapons systems, including nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Depending on the design, such rockets can also be equipped with one or more nuclear warheads. In June, the US armed forces sent a nuclear submarine with cruise missiles to South Korea for joint exercises.
North Korea is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, the largely isolated country launched multiple nuclear-capable missiles again this year.
According to the North Korean state news agency KCNA, US reconnaissance aircraft are said to have recently violated North Korea’s airspace in the east of the country. The agency quoted an unnamed spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of Defense. “There is no guarantee that there will not be a shocking incident in which a US Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft is shot down over the East Sea,” the spokesman said.
1688961121
#North #Korea #warns #increased #risk #nuclear #conflict