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| State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller is seen speaking during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington, July 11, in this captured image. Yonhap |
North Korea's claim that U.S. aircraft violated its airspace is unfounded, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling on Pyongyang to stop its escalatory actions.
Matthew Miller made the remark after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, accused U.S. spy aircraft of intruding into North Korea's exclusive economic zone on multiple occasions, while threatening to shoot down U.S. aircraft in the future.
"As a matter of international law, the DPRK's recent statements that U.S. flights above its claimed exclusive economic zone are unlawful are unfounded as high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in such areas," he said when asked about North Korea's accusation, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim's statement, issued early Tuesday (Korea time), was a repeat of her accusation made the previous day.
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Sabrina Singh, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, earlier dismissed the North Korean accusation as groundless.
"We always operate responsibly and safely and in accordance with international law, so those accusations are just accusations," she said on Monday.
Miller called on North Korea to halt its escalatory behavior and engage in dialogue instead.
"I would just say that we continue to urge the DPRK to refrain from escalatory actions," he told a daily press briefing.
"We remain committed to diplomacy and reiterate our interest in dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions, something that they have so far not taken us up on," he added. (Yonhap)
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