U.S. spy planes monitor N. Korea on New Year's Day

SEOUL, Jan. 1 (Yonhap) -- U.S. spy planes flew over and around the Korean Peninsula on New Year's Day on Wednesday, an aviation tracker said, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the communist nation will soon show off a "new strategic weapon."

An RC-135W Rivet Joint of the U.S. Air Force took off from Japan's Kadena Air Base at 8:25 a.m. (Korean time) for an East Sea mission, while an EP-3E of the U.S. Navy also flew over South Korea at 25,000 feet, according to Aircraft Spots.

The flights came after the North's leader said there is no ground for him to keep his promise to suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests, and the world will "witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by the DPRK in the near future."

The DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The U.S. has been closely monitoring the North since Pyongyang warned last month that it is up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it wants to get, sparking concern that the regime could restart testing of nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

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