North Korea: South Korea's purchase of F-35s would destroy peace efforts on the peninsula

"The launch of the stealth fighter is a hostile act that escalates military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and is a clear challenge to peace-making efforts," North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said in an editorial on April 7.

The announcement came just 10 days after South Korea received two US-made F-35A fighter jets, but the date of their deployment has not yet been decided. These are the first two of a batch of 40 F-35As that Seoul agreed to buy under a $6.5 billion contract in 2014.

Uriminzokkiri said South Korea needs to consider the "catastrophic consequences" of this decision.

The second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in late February ended without any agreement between the two sides. The situation on the Korean peninsula has recently shown signs of complexity when South Korean intelligence and US experts discovered that Pyongyang is showing signs of restoring the Sohae missile launch site and minimal activity at the Yongbon nuclear facility.

However, US President Donald Trump has shown his commitment to continuing negotiations with Pyongyang by emphasizing his close relationship with the North Korean leader. Last month, he ordered the withdrawal of additional sanctions on Pyongyang because he "likes Kim Jong-un".