North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong warned on Sunday that Pyongyang will cause “irretrievable misfortune,” after the secretive regime fired several artillery rounds on South Korean maritime territory over the weekend.
Shelling Near South Korean Islands
The South Korean military said the North had fired more than 60 artillery rounds on Saturday, near their disputed maritime border, following a similar series of more than 200 rounds the previous day. On Sunday, Pyongyang once again fired around 90 rounds, Seoul claimed.
However, the North’s army said the drill did not pose any threat to the South as it was conducted parallel to the border.
Seoul warned that “shelling in a no-hostility zone is an act of threatening peace and escalating tension on the Korean peninsula.” It further demanded an immediate cessation of the act and warned that it’s armed forces will “take due military measures” and “overwhelmingly respond to it on the principle of “promptly, strongly and to the end,” if the firing continues.
‘This is a provocative act that threatens peace on the Korean peninsula.’
— Financial Times (@FT) January 5, 2024
Three South Korean islands have evacuated residents into bomb shelters as North Korea and South Korea both conducted live fire exercises close to their disputed maritime borderhttps://t.co/LknGOnCPuB
Comments from Kim Yo Jong
Kim clarified that the Korean People’s Army (KPA) had “not fired even a single shell” into South Korean waters, and in fact, had only carried out a “deceptive operation” by “detonating blasting powder simulating the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery for 60 times.”
The operation aimed to assess the South’s “real detecting ability,” who it accused of being “engrossed in bravo and blind bravery.”
She accused South Korea of “stupidly” misjudging “the blasting sound as the sound of gunfire… for the sake of pride” and conjecturing it as “a provocation.” She added that Seoul “even made a false and impudent statement” regarding the location of the supposed shells.
Kim warned that if “an unexpected case occurs due to misjudgment, conjecture, obstinacy and arrogance” of the South’s “ignorant military gangsters,” they must consider the danger Seoul “will be exposed to… where more than 10 millions people [reside]”.
“The KPA will launch an immediate military strike if the enemy makes even a slight provocation,” she underscored.
“The military gangsters should bear in mind that they can “die instantly and forcefully” if they continue to resort to the so-called principle of counteraction, such as “‘promptly, strongly and to the end,’ often touted by them,” the North Korean leader concluded.