SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea announced Sunday that its front-line army units are ready to launch an attack on South Korea, increasing pressure on its flying rival. drone Leaflets were distributed in the capital, Pyongyang.
South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent the drone, but has warned North Korea that it will severely punish North Korea if its people’s safety is threatened.
North Korea on Friday accused South Korea of launching drones to drop propaganda leaflets over North Korea three times this month. threatened to respond with force If that happens again.
In a statement carried by state media on Sunday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry issued a preliminary operational order for the military to “make full preparations for firing” artillery and other army units near the border with South Korea. announced.
According to the statement, an unnamed ministry spokesperson said the North Korean military had warned relevant forces that if South Korea were to cross the border again with drones that could trigger fighting on the Korean peninsula, they would be targeting unspecified enemy targets. He said he had given instructions to fully prepare for the situation, including launching an immediate attack on the United States.
The spokesperson said that South Korea’s drone launches have caused “serious and volatile military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” In a separate statement later Sunday, the spokesperson said the entire South Korean territory “could be reduced to a pile of ash” following a powerful North Korean attack.
Also on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister described as “suicidal” a report that South Korea’s Ministry of Defense had warned that North Korea faces the end of its regime if it harms South Koreans. . She warned on Saturday that the discovery of a new South Korean drone “will definitely lead to a terrible disaster.”
North Korea often uses this kind of harsh rhetoric when hostilities with South Korea and the United States increase.
Inter-Korean relations have remained tense since US-led diplomacy to end North Korea’s nuclear program collapsed in 2019. Since then, North Korea has ramped up its nuclear arsenal and has repeatedly threatened to attack South Korea and the United States with nuclear weapons. However, experts say it is unlikely that North Korea will launch a full-scale attack because its military power is superior to that of the combined forces of the United States and South Korea.
Observers expect tensions to rise ahead of next month’s military confrontation with North Korea. american presidential election This is to increase its influence in future diplomacy with the United States.
North Korea has floated thousands of ships since May balloon They are transporting trash to South Korea in retaliation for South Korean activists who released their own balloons loaded with anti-North Korean leaflets. South Korean military resumes operations against North Korea’s balloon operations border speaker Playing propaganda and K-POP songs at high volume towards North Korea.
North Korea is highly sensitive to outside criticism of Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian government and dynastic rule by his family.
