The South blamed the North last week for landmine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers, resuming propaganda broadcasts for the first time in 11 years.
Advertisement
Until now, there has been no unusual North Korean activity observed along the border.
That sentiment was echoed in a prior statement from North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which warned that South Korea and the United States’ “strongholds of aggression and provocation”, including the White House and Seoul’s presidential Blue House, could be attacked because they are “within the sight of ultra-precision striking”.
On Tuesday, North Korea again urged for the suspension of U.S.-South Korea joint drills, South Korea television network SBS reported, and offered a concession in return.
In February, officials warned that North Korea would cause the “final ruin of the US” with its “precision and diversified nuclear striking means”. “The companies had been particularly interested in improving workers’ abilities and numbers, and it looks like this agreement will leave them with better operating conditions”, said a Ministry of Unification official.
Lee Hee-ho, widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, speaks at a press conference at Gimpo Airport after returning from a four-day trip to North Korea, Aug. 8.
The rival Koreas have resumed cross-border propaganda warfare as North Korea matched South Korea’s loudspeaker campaign with broadcasts of its own that reportedly included criticism of Seoul and praises for Pyongyang.
Won is the North’s No. 2 man on South Korea affairs after Kim Yang Gon, the director of the United Front Department of the Korean Workers’ Party.
“By taking into account the grave situation facing inter-Korean ties, the government plans to take measures to develop the complex”, the ministry official was quoted as saying by news agency Yonhap, reflecting South Korea’s aim to protect Kaesong from politics.
Advertisement
Tension between Pyongyang and Seoul is rising as U.S. and South Korean forces on Monday began annual joint military exercises that the North regularly protests. He explained that Pyongyang perceives the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle military exercises as a larger threat than UFG.
