North Korea’s defense ministry escalated their rhetoric on Saturday, accusing the U.S. and South Korea of stepping up border reconnaissance activities and explicitly threatened military action. This accusation was reported by state media Voice of Korea and Korean Central News Agency.
The ministry issued a press statement in which Kim Kang Il, Vice President of North Korea’s defense ministry, raised objections to what he termed “hostile air espionage” perpetrated by the U.S. He alleged that the U.S and South Korea’s air force were “seriously encroaching upon the sovereignty” of North Korea.
Beyond complaints about aerial espionage and military exercises, Kim Kang Il further underscored that the South Korean government had spread leaflets via balloons in the border region. He interprets such activities as cross-border intrusion and a “dangerous provocation”. Notably, he cautioned that there would be a “dangerous consequence,” and North Korea would take “necessary military measures to defend [its] sovereignty and security”. He revealed that the North Korean military has instructions to react offensively to any actions by the U.S. or South Korea seen as provocative.
This pointed statement surfaces amidst escalating tensions between North and South Korea. In November 2023, North Korea reportedly deployed surveillance satellites at the border, a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1695. Soon after, South Korea suspended a military agreement from 2018 and announced a resumption of reconnaissance and surveillance activities targeting North Korea. Similarly, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed earlier this year that his country would halt attempts at reconciliation with South Korea, labelling South Korea as a “number-one hostile state”.
Despite this stark rhetoric, North Korea has not initiated any military action against South Korea. However, Kim Kang Il communicated that the state would respond in kind to the scattering of leaflets at the border with their own deployment of “wastepaper and filth” over the border and within South Korea’s territory. Conspicuously absent from his report was whether any such action has taken place.
More on this developing situation can be found on JURIST – News