- South’s use of the F-35A aircraft called ‘a breach of faith’ by Pyongyang
- Moon Jae-in is set to travel to the US to hold talks with Trump on April 11
SEOUL: North Korea lambasted South Korea’s latest round of military exercises on Monday, as well as its deployment of two US-made F-35A stealth fighter jets.
Pyongyang called the moves an “escalation of military tension,” as inter-Korean relations continue to sour after the failed Hanoi Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February.
“It’s a hostile action to escalate military tension, and an explicit challenge to efforts for peace,” Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean website, stated on Sunday, referring to the South Korean Air Force’s receipt of the two planes on March 29.
The radar-evading fifth-generation jets arrived as part of a 40-plane delivery, worth around $6.5 billion.
Stealth fighter aircraft can penetrate deep into enemy territory without detection to conduct reconnaissance and ground attacks — a key strategic threat to Pyongyang and its ground-based nuclear arsenal.
“South Korea joined the ranks of Asia’s few radar-evading warplane operators,” Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said in a brief statement.
Uriminzokkiri denounced the F-35A deployment as “a breach of faith” running counter to the reciprocal agreements signed by the militaries of the two nations. The agreements called for removing frontline guard posts and establishing air and naval buffer zones.
“The South Korean authorities should carefully consider catastrophic consequences from the introduction of foreign weapons systems,” the site added.
Uriminzokkiri also took aim at Seoul’s military exercise plans, stating: “The South Korean military authorities say their field exercises will be reduced in scale over time, but such exercises reverse the military agreements of the two Koreas, as they are aimed at invasion and provocation.”
“It’s a ritual that propaganda sites issue condemnations of South Korea’s military modernization programs and training exercises,” Moon Keun-shik, an analyst at the Korea Defense & Security Forum, a Seoul-based private defense think-tank, told Arab News.
“But the latest condemnation appears to be an expression of discontent over the stalled inter-Korean economic projects limited by US-led sanctions.”
The cross-border relationship cooled following the collapse of the Hanoi Summit, which ended in disagreement over the terms of denuclearization and sanctions relief.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to travel to the US to hold talks with Trump on April 11 in a bid to make a breakthrough in the stalemate.