South Korea’s military said Monday it was “fully prepared” to respond to North Korea’s warnings after drone flights over Pyongyang, which ordered its troops to prepare to open fire.
The North accuses Seoul of flying drones over its capital and dropping propaganda leaflets filled with “inflammatory rumors and garbage.” Pyongyang warned on Sunday that one more drone would be considered “a declaration of war”.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun initially denied that Seoul was behind the drone flights. The Joint Chiefs of Staff later said it could not “confirm whether the North Korean allegations were true or not.”
Militant groups in the South routinely send propaganda and U.S. currency to the North, usually by balloon.
On Sunday evening, North Korea announced that it had asked eight military brigades, already on a war footing, “to fully prepare to open fire”, and that it had reinforced aerial observation posts in Pyongyang.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called Pyongyang’s claims “shameless.”
“Our military is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to respond to provocations from the North,” JCS spokesman Lee Seong-joon said at a press briefing.
North Korea says drones have entered its capital’s airspace three times in recent days. These drone flights constitute “an unforgivable and malicious challenge,” said Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, one of the country’s most influential figures. In a press release, she threatened a “horrible disaster”, without further details.
According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, these accusations could be an attempt by Pyongyang to strengthen the feeling of solidarity among the North Korean population.
Pyongyang could also seek to “create anxiety and confusion” in South Korean society, Koo Byoung-sam, a ministry spokesperson, said at a press briefing.
