US flies surveillance aircraft over peninsula amid concerns over NK provocations

A US maritime patrol plane has made a late-night flight over the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Friday, amid concerns that North Korea could launch provocations in protest over stalled nuclear talks with the United States.

According to Aircraft Spots, a P-3C plane of the US Navy flew over the peninsula at around 11 p.m. on Thursday, the latest in the US military's recent series of surveillance flyovers.

The aircraft appears to have been mobilized to check for any signs of the North preparing to launch a submarine-launched ballistic missile to show anger over the impasse in the nuclear negotiations.

The North has threatened to take a "new way" if the US does not show flexibility in the deadlocked negotiations by Pyongyang's self-imposed year-end deadline.

The threat has spawned speculation that the North could resume provocative acts, including launches of an SLBM or an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Also on Thursday, other US planes such as a RC-135S Cobra Ball plane were spotted conducting a surveillance mission over the peninsula.

Observers said that through these flights, the US sought to warn the North against any major provocations that could potentially derail ongoing diplomacy to denuclearize it and lay the groundwork for a lasting peace on the peninsula. (Yonhap)