North Korea threatens Seoul during military exercises for the third day in a row

First modification: 01/07/2024 – 18:56

6 min

Pyongyang carried out live-fire exercises near its coast for the third time in a row, raising tension in the region. The threat of an immediate military attack on South Korea was issued by Kim Yo Jong, the sister and key ally of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The warning came this Sunday, at the same time that Pyongyang reported firing artillery shells near the border with South Korea, an activity that was repeated for three consecutive days, according to South Korean military reports.

According to reports, the North fired more than 90 artillery rounds near the disputed maritime border. On Friday, a more extensive bombardment was reported, with over 200 rounds. On Saturday, North Korea fired more than 60 rounds, according to sources in the South.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains tense, with North Korea conducting military exercises and issuing direct threats, while South Korea, for its part, remains on alert. The international community observes with concern the increase in tensions in this region.

Despite Kim's statement, the South Korean military rejected his claim as low-level psychological warfare, urging North Korea to cease military activities that increase tension near the border.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades after Kim Jong Un last year enshrined his country's status as a nuclear power in the constitution and conducted tests of advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.

At year-end meetings in Pyongyang, Kim threatened a nuclear attack against the South and called for an increase in the military arsenal before an armed conflict, warning that it could “break out at any time.”

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“The result was clear as we expected”

On Friday, North Korea launched around 200 projectiles. Kim Yo Jong claimed that North Korea only detonated explosive powder simulating the sound of its coastal artillery on the coast, to test the South Korean military's military detection capabilities.

“The result was clear as we expected. They misinterpreted the explosive sound as the sound of gunshots and interpreted it as a provocation. They even made a false and impudent statement that the shells fell north” of the maritime border, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement. statement broadcast by state media.

In her statement on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong called the South Korean military “gangsters” and “clowns in military uniforms.” He also suggested that a possible future South Korean miscalculation of North Korean moves could cause an accidental clash between the rivals, jeopardizing the security of Seoul, a city of 10 million people that is just an hour's drive from the land border.

South Korea prepares civilians for imminent attack

Faced with this fact, Seoul ordered civilians to take refuge on the island before carrying out its own live-fire exercises. Although the South called the action provocative, the North denied that the islands were in danger due to their firing exercises.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the incident “caused no harm to our people or the military” but warned that it threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and increases tensions.

This bombing comes after warnings from Pyongyang about building up its military arsenal in preparation for an imminent war on the peninsula.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik declared that North Korea's resumption of artillery firing exercises is a provocative act that threatens peace and increases tension. He added that the South Korean military must be prepared to eliminate the enemy and back up its stance with force.

Endless tension

Tensions between the two Koreas are rising because North Korea has carried out a series of missile tests since 2022, while South Korea has expanded its military training with the United States in a cycle of retaliation.

North Korean artillery fire on Friday prompted South Korea to have its troops on border islands fire artillery rounds near the maritime border in response. The projectiles launched by the two Koreas fell in a maritime buffer zone they had established in a 2018 military agreement to reduce military tensions on the front lines.

The agreement requires the two Koreas to stop live-fire exercises, aerial surveillance and other hostile acts along their border, but now the agreement is in danger of collapsing because both Koreas have taken measures that violate it.

Experts spoke to the Associated Press news agency and indicated that North Korea is likely to step up weapons testing and increase its trademark fiery rhetoric against its rivals ahead of South Korea's parliamentary elections in April and the presidential election. from the United States in November.

These events occur months after North Korea completely suspended a military agreement with the South, beginning a deterioration after claiming to have successfully launched a spy satellite into space in November. Although Pyongyang withdrew measures to prevent military conflict, North Korea's violation of the pact in previous years already indicated the possibility of clashes.

With AP, EFE and Reuters