Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” in a written statement for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing – shattering a longstanding taboo by granting such a designation to Kim Jong-un’s regime and drawing considerable attention in Seoul.

The U.S. Pacific Air Forces told Newsweek that the RC-135 spy planes were conducting planned, routine operations.

South Korea rebuked President Trump’s remarks calling North Korea a “nuclear power,” raising concern about the relationship between the two countries. “North Korea’s denuclearization remains a consistent principle upheld by the international community,