South Korea deployed dozens of warplanes on Friday after detecting a deployment of 180 North Korean military flights in the region. This is yet another episode in the escalation of military tensions between the two neighboring countries in recent weeks.
According to Seoul, North Korean aircraft were detected around 11 am local time in several areas close to the tactical line of action, a virtual demarcation that the South Korean military has designated 20 to 50 km north of the Demilitarized Zone. Such a limit was created to give South Korea time to react to any provocation by the North.
The maneuvers also follow the firing of more than 80 rounds of artillery during the night of Thursday (3) and the launch of several missiles, including a possible intercontinental ballistic missile.
In response, Seoul sent 80 aircraft, including F-35A stealth fighter jets, to the region — a sign of strength in the dispute. Simultaneously, about 240 jets were participating in air exercises with the US. These operations with Washington, by the way, are one of the reasons for the increase in tensions with Pyongyang, which sees them as provocations.
On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the United States should halt its “provocative” air exercises and warned that “continuous provocation must be followed by an ongoing reaction.”
The fact is that the recent attacks on both sides form a vicious cycle. This week, for example, Washington announced the extension of its exercises with Seoul after Pyongyang’s military actions in the region – the new deadline ends on Saturday (5). “We remain in close coordination with our ally on any further changes and the security environment on the Korean Peninsula,” a US military spokesman told Reuters.
Earlier, Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers’ Party, said that Washington and Seoul had made a very dangerous decision in extending the exercises and were pushing the situation out of control.
Also this Friday, tensions on the peninsula reached the UN Security Council, in a meeting convened by the Americans. At the time, the US accused Russia and China of providing “total protection” to North Korea in the body and said the pair were trying in every way to justify Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.
Moscow and Beijing, in turn, accused Washington of inflaming tensions with their large-scale joint military exercises with Seoul. China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said that rather than escalating tensions, the United States should create conditions for resuming meaningful dialogue with North Korea.
The discussion ended in a joint statement by the elected members of the Security Council, not including China and Russia, condemning North Korea’s missile launches.
At the same time, G7 foreign ministers signed another declaration on Friday, which argued that any nuclear test or other reckless action by North Korea must be met with a swift, united and robust international response.
Meeting in Washington on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup pledged to pursue further steps to demonstrate the alliance’s “determination and capabilities”.
High tensions on the Korean peninsula are heightened by concerns that the North Korean regime is about to resume nuclear bomb testing for the first time since 2017. The United States believes that China and Russia have the leverage to persuade North Korea. not to continue with the exercises. Amid recent statements, however, the end of the apprehensions seems a long way off.
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