North Korea warned Seoul and Washington on Tuesday that it would pay a “heavy price”
Seoul:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directed a massive live-fire artillery drill that Pyongyang said was capable of attacking the South Korean capital, state media said on Friday.
So far this year, Pyongyang has declared South Korea its “main enemy,” abandoned institutions dedicated to reunification and outreach and threatened war over territorial incursions of “even 0.001 mm.”
Pyongyang’s latest news comes after Washington and Seoul began annual spring military drills on Monday, with twice as many troops participating as in 2023.
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said of Seoul that North Korea’s live-fire drills on Thursday involved border troops and “put the enemy’s capital within attack range.”
Kim Jong Un urged his soldiers to “vigorously advance preparations for regular combat mobilization” in order to “seize the initiative with ruthless and rapid strikes” should a “real war” occur, KCNA reported.
Seoul’s military also confirmed that North Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills involving rocket launchers and self-propelled howitzers.
The attack occurred in Nampo, a port city in western North Korea on the Yellow Sea, the report added.
“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea for signs of provocation… while maintaining a resolute joint defense posture and conducting ongoing Freedom Shield exercises and joint exercises,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement.
“If North Korea makes a provocation, we will carry out overwhelming and resolute punishment in accordance with the principle of ‘immediate, strong and final’.”
North Korea warned on Tuesday that Seoul and Washington would pay a “high price” for large-scale military drills, urging allies to stop “crazy war drills.”
North Korea has long condemned joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, calling them rehearsals for an invasion.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has conducted weapons tests in the past in response to such joint drills.
Kim Jong-un, who watched the drills on Thursday, expressed “very satisfaction” that the troops were “fully prepared for continued mobilization for combat,” KCNA reported.
On Wednesday, he visited a major combat training base in the country’s western region, and photos released later showed him talking to troops and overseeing firing drills.
Last week, South Korea’s hawkish President Yun Seok-yeol called on the international community to support “unified efforts” to “liberate” all people on the peninsula.
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