Updated Oct. 14, 2024, 02:02 a.m. ET.
North Korea said its army units near the border with South Korea have been ordered to be ready to launch strikes on the South amid disputes over drones that the North says have flown over its capital Pyongyang. South Korea’s military said Monday it had detected signs North Korea was preparing to blow up cross-border roads.
The North said on Friday that the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times this month. South Korea denied the claim.
In a statement carried by state media Sunday, the North’s Defense Ministry said that the military had issued a preliminary operation order to artillery and other army units near the border with South Korea to “get fully ready to open fire.”
An unidentified ministry spokesperson also said North Korea’s military ordered relevant units to fully prepare for situations like launching immediate strikes on unspecified enemy targets when South Korean drones cross the border again, possibly triggering fighting on the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement.
Separately, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the North was ready to take a “strong corresponding retaliatory action” in case drones carrying anti-Pyongyang materials are flown again into the North.
She also warned that the “attack time” can come at any time.
In response, South Korea’s defense ministry said any attempts by the North to harm its people would result in the end of the Kim regime.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said on Friday that South Korean drones carrying leaflets were detected in the night skies over Pyongyang on Oct. 3, as well as Wednesday and Thursday last week.
Releasing photos of a drone that it said it had captured, as well as photos of propaganda leaflets and bundles sent from the South, the ministry demanded that South Korea immediately end “dangerous provocation” it said could lead to “an armed conflict that could even escalate into war.”
At that time, South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun denied that the military had sent any drones across the border, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff later said it could not confirm whether the North’s claims were true, suggesting the possibility that the drones were sent by a civic group.
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Amid simmering tension, South Korea’s National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said on Sunday that North Korea should not start a war unless it is contemplating suicide, and that its leader Kim must fear South Korea's military power as he has “the most to lose.”
"The possibility of North Korea waging a war has always existed ever since the Korean War," Shin said during an interview with the South's national broadcaster KBS.
“Whether North Korea initiates war depends not on its intentions, but on our will and readiness. It is crucial that we have our unified efforts to ensure that North Korea cannot act on such intentions,” he said.
“I believe that North Korea will not start a war unless it decides to commit suicide.”
Shin added that what matters the most is South Korea maintaining the capability to respond timely to any provocations by the North, stressing the importance of the alliance with the United States.
“The South Korea-U.S. alliance is robust, and South Korea is strong as an advanced nation,” said Shin.
Regarding the North’s claim over the drones, Shin said the government will remain noncommittal, as addressing the issue will only stir up discord within South Korea and that is the exact intention of Pyongyang.
“Based on experience, the best way is to ignore,” Shin said.
Shin also said that North Korea has overreacted since South Korea’s unveiling of the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, as the missile should be very intimidating to the North.
South Korea unveiled its Hyunmoo-5 missile on Oct. 1 during a ceremony to mark the 76th founding anniversary of South Korea's armed forces.
It is designed to respond to a North Korean nuclear attack by targeting the country’s leadership and military headquarters in a retaliatory strike.
“Kim Jong Un, who controls all decision-making in North Korea, is the richest and most powerful person there,” Shin said.
“In other words, he should deeply fear our high-precision weapons since he has the most to lose, and is the most scared.”
‘Preparing for explosions’ on inter-Korean roads
North Korea appears to be preparing to carry out explosions at roads connected to South Korea as early as Monday, the South’s military said, a few days after Pyongyang vowed to cut off all inter-Korean roads and railways.
The North said on Wednesday it would cut off roads and railways to South Korea and bolster border defenses, saying South Korean military exercises and U.S. "strategic nuclear assets" prompted the decision.
“The North Korean military has been carrying out activities assumed to be linked to explosions on the roads along the Gyeongui and Donghae lines,” said a spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS, at a regular briefing on Monday.
The spokesman said it was possible the blast could take place “as early as today,” adding that North Korea had been installing covers along the roads to make preparations for the blasts.
The spokesperson said North Korea could carry out other provocative acts, such as launching a “space projectile,” to change the course of the recent situation with the South.
The JCS added it is closely monitoring such activities while working to ensure the safety of its troops and South Korean people.
The Koreas are connected by roads and railways along the Gyeongui line, which connects the South’s western border city of Paju to the North’s Kaesong, and the Donghae line along the east coast. But their border has been sealed in recent years and heavily guarded on both sides.
Edited by Mike Firn.
Updated to add quotes from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.