SEOUL: North Korea’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, declared on Sunday that her country will respond to any provocation with a swift military attack.
The statements follow a similar barrage of more than 200 artillery rounds the day before, according to the South Korean military, which claimed the North had fired more than 60 artillery rounds on Saturday close to their disputed maritime border.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, which cited the country’s military, North Korea resumed firing shots on Sunday.
In a statement obtained by state news agency KCNA, Kim Yo Jong declared, “I make myself clear once again that the safety catch of trigger of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) had already been slipped.”
Kim used the North Korean army’s official term, the KPA, to declare that “if the enemy makes even the slightest provocation, the KPA will launch an immediate military strike.”
Yonhap claimed there was no intention to do so following Saturday’s events, despite the fact that South Korea conducted its own fire drills in the sea on Friday in reaction to the artillery shelling.
The South Korean border island residents were warned to take shelter in bomb shelters following Friday’s duelling drills; however, there were no reports of shells breaching the sea border.
In the statement, Kim denied the Saturday firing and said the North had detonated explosives as a deception.
South Korea’s military rejected Kim’s statement as low-level psychological warfare, urging North Korea to cease military activity that raises tension near the border.
