US Escalating Tensions By Inciting Taiwan Independence - North Korean Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2021) North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho has accused the United States of escalating the situation in the Asia-Pacific Region by inciting the independence of Taiwan.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said in a CNN town hall meeting that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense if it came under attack by China.

"Recently, the U.S. is building up military tension by inciting independence of Taiwan, which is an inseparable territory of China. This year alone, the U.S. dispatched all kinds of battleships into the Taiwan Straits on the plea of 'freedom of navigation' whenever occasion called. Some time ago, it even mobilized a battleship of its ally only to escalate tension in the Taiwan Straits," Pak said, as quoted by the KCNA news agency.

China recently sent close to 150 military aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, near Taiwan as the United States and allies conducted military drills near the South China Sea.

The Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan's identification zone in two droves during the day and at night, prompting Taiwan to scramble patrol planes to ward them off.

China sees Taiwan as its breakaway province. The island has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949 when an opposition nationalist party retreated there during a civil war and set up a government.