South Korean activists and former North Korean defectors release balloons with leaflets condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a rally denouncing Mr Kim's birthday. -- PHOTO: AP
SEOUL (South Korea) - NORTH KOREA'S military threatened on Sunday to fire at South Korea, as Seoul prepared to start annual joint drills with US troops, maneuvers Pyongyang says are a rehearsal for an invasion.
The North's military warned that it would fire at South Korean border towns if Seoul continued to allow activists to launch propaganda leaflets toward the communist country, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said. The warning was conveyed to South Korea's military earlier on Sunday, it said.
'South Korea's traitor puppet regime must recognise the seriousness of the situation and immediately stop anti-(North Korea) psychological warfare,' the KCNA said.
It accused South Korean activists and lawmakers of flying balloons carrying hundreds of thousands of leaflets critical of North Korea's government on the North's most important national holiday, an apparent reference to leader Kim Jong Il's 69th birthday, which fell on Feb 16.
It was unclear whether more balloons had been launched since then. The warning came one day before the start of annual military drills between South Korea and the United States.
Pyongyang has called the drills a preparation to invade North Korea, though South Korean and US officials have repeatedly said they are purely defensive and that they have no intention of attacking. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression by the North. -- AP
0 Comments:
Post a Comment