Military

NKorea Slams US Move to Deploy Nuclear Submarines

JUL 10 2023·Updated AUG 27

Story

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

North Korea has condemned a planned deployment of a US nuclear missile submarine to waters near the Korean peninsula, warning that such a move could ignite a nuclear conflict. Pyongyang also says its airspace was violated by US spy planes and threatened to shoot them down.
Al Jazeera
An unnamed spokesman of North Korea’s defense ministry said that the presence of a US strategic nuclear submarine carrying nuclear warheads near the Korean peninsula would be the first time such a vessel has been deployed in the area since 1981.
The Korea Times
According to the official North Korean news agency the US' decision to introduce strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula is “the most undisguised nuclear blackmail” against North Korea and the region and presents a grave threat to peace. It added that the US would be held accountable if it creates an "extreme situation" on the peninsula.
South China Morning Post
North Korea has long complained about US surveillance flights near the peninsula and has previously shot down or intercepted US aircraft at the border with South Korea and off the coast.
Al Arabiya English
The US military did not immediately respond to North Korea's claim of airspace violation, while South Korean officials dismissed the claim as false. It said that the US conducts regular reconnaissance flights in the region.
Dw.Com
North Korea has conducted multiple nuclear missile launches this year, including test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles and, in May, attempting to put a military spy satellite into space.
France 24

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The deployment of a nuclear submarine in the Korean theater is part of the so-called "Washington Declaration," which aims to deter the North from attacking its neighbors. Over the last several months, there's been increased anxiety over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests, and, as a result, the US and South Korea have taken measures to deter further acts of aggression.

The Diplomat

Establishment-critical narrative

There is widespread criticism of the US deployment of a nuclear submarine in South Korea. The deployment threatens to make the region more dangerous, as it provides a means for the US to retaliate against the North if it launches a nuclear attack on the South. It would do no good for either country to strike back against the other if an unthinkable event were taking place.