SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Sunday its front-line army units are ready to launch strikes on South Korea, ramping up pressure on its rival that it said flew drones and dropped leaflets over its capital Pyongyang.
South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned it would sternly punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens is threatened.
Also Sunday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described as “suicidal” the South Korean Defense Ministry’s reported warning that North Korea would face the end of its regime if it harms South Korean nationals.
Since May, North Korea has floated thousands of balloons carrying rubbish toward South Korea in retaliation for South Korean activists flying their own balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of the authoritarian government of Kim Jong Un and his family’s dynastic rule.
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea increased pressure on its rival by announcing on Sunday that its front-line army units are prepared to launch strikes on South Korea. North Korea claimed to have flown drones and dropped leaflets over its capital, Pyongyang.
Although it has declined to acknowledge whether it sent drones, South Korea has threatened to harshly punish North Korea should its citizens’ safety be in danger.
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North Korea threatened to use force if South Korea continued to use drones to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, accusing the latter of having done so three times this month.
The military in the North had given artillery and other army units close to the South Korean border a preliminary operation order to “get fully ready to open fire,” according to a statement released by the ministry and carried by state media on Sunday. “.
According to an unidentified ministry spokesperson, if South Korea infiltrates drones across the border once more, potentially leading to fighting on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s military has ordered relevant units to fully prepare for scenarios like launching immediate strikes on unidentified enemy targets.
The South Korean drone launches, according to the spokesperson, are the reason for “grave touch-and-go military tensions that are prevailing on the Korean Peninsula.”. Later on Sunday, the spokesperson issued a separate statement stating that the North’s devastating attack could cause the entire South Korean territory to “turn into piles of ashes.”.
Additionally on Sunday, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to the reported threat from the South Korean Defense Ministry that North Korea would lose its regime if it hurts South Korean citizens as “suicidal”. The finding of a new South Korean drone, she said on Saturday, will “certainly lead to a horrible disaster.”. “.
Such ferocious, scathing language is frequently released by North Korea during periods of heightened hostilities with South Korea and the United States.
Relations between the two Koreas are still tight following a U. S. South Korea’s nuclear program came to an end in 2019 thanks to -led diplomacy. Since then, North Korea has significantly increased the size of its nuclear arsenal and issued numerous threats to strike both South Korea and the U.S. s. armed with nuclear weapons. Experts, however, believe that because the combined U.S. military is stronger than North Korea’s, an all-out attack is unlikely. S. along with South Korean troops.
It was expected by observers that North Korea would intensify tensions prior to the U.S. S. presidential election to increase its influence in upcoming negotiations with the United States.
In retaliation for South Korean activists flying their own balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets, North Korea has been launching thousands of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea since May. In response to the North’s balloon campaign, the military of South Korea turned on border loudspeakers again and played K-pop songs and propaganda for North Korea.
When it comes to criticism from the outside regarding Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian government and the dynastic rule of his family, North Korea is very sensitive.
