(Bloomberg) — North Korea briefly ordered its troops along the South Korean border to stand ready to fire after accusing Seoul of sending drones into the capital Pyongyang in what it called a “war provocation.”
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The North Korean Army General Staff this weekend ordered artillery units to “fully prepare to open fire” for an immediate attack on enemy targets if a similar infiltration occurs again, the Korean official said. Central News Agency Sunday.
The order was issued on October 12 and was active until October 13, according to the statement. North Korea claims Seoul has sent drones to Pyongyang three times this month, distributing leaflets denouncing the Kim Jong Un regime.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said they are monitoring North Korea’s activities and are prepared to counter any provocations. The country will not say whether it has sent drones across the border.
“The cause of this whole situation lies in North Korea’s garbage balloons. We strongly warn North Korea to stop sending filthy and vulgar waste balloons,” the JCS said in a statement.
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North Korea has sent thousands of waste-laden balloons across the border since late May amid anger over South Korea’s joint military exercises with the U.S. and other actions at the border, which Pyongyang has long said poses a threat to its sovereignty. The balloons caused a nuisance to Seoul and surrounding areas, and some caused fires.
But South Korea has refrained from shooting them for fear of spreading potentially harmful material or causing collateral damage in densely populated areas through gunfire.
The latest incidents have increased tensions along the heavily militarized border and authorities in South Korea are on high alert against further escalation. In July, a South Korean official warned that North Korea might consider a nuclear test closer to the U.S. presidential election.
Under the latest guidelines, eight North Korean artillery brigades at the border were ordered to be “fully armed at full war strength, while other military units were also put on alert to intensify monitoring,” KCNA said.
“The infiltration of drones” over Pyongyang “constitutes an undeniable war provocation,” North Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the country would take action against further incursions.
Last month, North Korea released its first photos of a uranium enrichment plant for atomic bombs, showing leader Kim touring a factory at the center of a program that has been a point of friction with the US for more than two decades. USA
Both Koreas have ramped up their unmanned aerial vehicle programs, with North Korea unveiling a suicide bombing drone in August. The level of North Korea’s drone capabilities remains questionable, but Kim has made developing drones for air and sea use a top priority.
South Korea got a wake-up call about drone threats when Pyongyang sent five UAVs across the border in 2022, including one that flew near President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office in Seoul. The South Korean military tried to shoot down the devices but failed. A complicating factor was the reluctance to fire ammunition in densely populated areas.
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