North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has ordered his military and intelligence units to strengthen terror capabilities, raising the prospects of terror attacks against the South, according to South Korea’s Presidential office.
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“North Korea’s terrorist attack could be in the form of causing harms to anti-North Korean activists, North Korean defectors or government officials”, Lee Chul-woo, a member of the ruling party, told the broadcaster on Thursday.
― Reuters picSEOUL, Feb 18 ― Seeking to push through a sweeping “anti-terrorism” law that has been blocked by opposition parties, South Korea’s government cited today the heightened risk of North Korea instigating “terror attacks”.
It warned cyberattacks, kidnapping of South Korean citizens and poison gas attacks are all possible threats.
The United States’ expanded sanctions are being imposed as the US and China are in delicate negotiations over a U.N. Security Council resolution on new sanctions.
“The official announcement of the possibility of THAAD deployment is a defensive measure to counter increasing nuclear and missile threats by North Korea”.
The National Intelligence Service is collecting the relevant information on the North’s possible attacks, Lee said.
Attacks on subways, shopping malls and other public places could also happen, he said.
The US will send 15,000 soldiers, up from 3,700 previous year, Mr Han said, and South Korea will also increase its number of participants.
The North says the drills are preparation for a northward invasion.
Furious about North Korea’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, South Korea vows to hit back hard and says the shutdown of a jointly run factory park in the North will only be the start.
American F-22 Raptors have joined locally based F-16s and F-15K Slam Eagles in South Korea for a show of force following “provocative actions” by the North. In response, the US and South Korea are moving to deploy a missile defense system that has been criticized by North Korea.
Last month, it sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea following the North’s fourth nuclear test.
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A joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States next month has been amped up in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, the South’s defence minister said on Thursday.
