North Korea is outraged by South Korea’s launching of drones carrying leaflets to Pyongyang and has threatened to respond militarily if such flights are repeated, Korean media reported.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that South Korean drones were detected in the night sky over Pyongyang on October 3 and on Wednesday and Thursday this week. “Numerous” anti-state leaflets were scattered from the drones.
The ministry accused the South of violating North Korea’s “sacred” sovereignty and threatening its security, and said its forces would prepare “all means of attack” and respond without warning if South Korean drones were again detected on its territory. The ministry said:
The safety lock on our trigger has now been released. We will be prepared for everything and will be watching. The criminals should no longer gamble with the lives of their citizens.
Tensions between the warring Koreas have been escalating in recent months, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stepping up weapons tests and South Korea responding by intensifying joint military exercises with the US.
Since May, North Korea has also sent thousands of balloons filled with paper waste, plastic and other rubbish to drop on the South, in a bizarre campaign of psychological warfare that has exacerbated the enmity between the countries.
Warnings from Pyongyang
North Korea said on Wednesday it would permanently block its border with South Korea and build advanced defences to deal with “confrontational hysteria” from South Korean and US forces.
North Korea’s military also said in its state media that it would “completely block roads and railways” linked to South Korea and “fortify relevant areas on our side with powerful defences.”
Earlier, Kim Jong Un warned of the DPRK’s readiness to use nuclear weapons in case of an attack on the country by South Korea and the US. In turn, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasised that the use of nuclear weapons by the DPRK would lead to the end of its regime.
