SEOUL: South Korea on Tuesday (Oct 20) vowed a stern response if North Korea acts on threats to strengthen its military posture along the border, which have tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In a statement, Seoul’s Defence Ministry expressed grave concern over Pyongyang’s threats to deploy additional tactical strike weapons along the border and resume loudspeaker broadcasts towards the South.
The escalation and exchange of threats has raised the possibility of clashes along the heavily armed border and undercuts diplomatic gains made by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung soon after he took office.
The ministry said South Korea’s broadcasts and warning shots near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) were a “legitimate defensive measure” aimed at preventing incursions and forcing North Korean troops who crossed the line to withdraw.
“If North Korea uses our legitimate measures as a pretext to carry out further provocations, we will punish it resolutely,” the ministry said.
It urged Pyongyang to stop making what it called groundless claims, halt incursions across the MDL and respond to efforts to resolve differences between the two sides over the line.
“CLEAR PROVOCATION”
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung reviewed military readiness while visiting a frontline army command, and ordered operations aimed at strengthening Seoul’s initiative in the Demilitarised Zone, its military said in a separate statement.
“We cannot tolerate North Korea falsely characterising our legitimate operational measures as provocations and shifting responsibility for heightened military tensions onto our military,” Jin said.
He said North Korea was responsible for planting landmines south of the MDL that seriously wounded South Korean soldiers last month, calling the incident “a clear provocation” and a violation of the armistice agreement.
