North Korea accused the United States on Monday, July 10, of conducting surveillance flights in violation of the North’s airspace. In a statement, a North Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson warned similar flights may be shot down in the future.
The spokesperson said provocative military actions by the U.S. were bringing the Korean Peninsula closer to a nuclear conflict. The statement cited the recent arrival of a U.S. nuclear submarine near the peninsula.
While there was no immediate response from the U.S. military, South Korea’s military did respond. They said while the U.S. does conduct routine reconnaissance flights around the peninsula, the North’s claim of an airspace violation is not true.
As tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continue to escalate, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un has recruited help from an unlikely source: his nation’s children. Kim has begun a campaign to indoctrinate North Korea’s children and prepare them to contribute to the country’s weapons and technology program.
At an event marking the anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s largest youth group, members gave rocket launchers as gifts to the country’s military. The Kim regime has also begun promoting science, technology and space ambition to kids, with kindergartners starting to learn about computers and robots as part of their curriculum.
As part of the campaign, Kim has also sought to remind the children of North Korea of the danger posed by the U.S. Late in 2022, he wrote a letter to North Korea’s youth, imploring them to hate the “American bastards” who want to “destroy your homes and steal your hopes.”
