On the same day, however, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed that its chairman told soldiers to “powerfully” respond to any North Korean military actions.
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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.
Such cross-border propaganda messages used to be commonplace along the DMZ but were stopped in 2004 in an effort to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“If the enemy provokes again, do not hesitate and retaliate resolutely”, Admiral Choi Yoon-hee instructed a frontline unit after accusing the North of planting the landmines responsible for seriously wounding two South Korean soldiers on August 4.
The U.S. State Department says the joint military drill between Seoul and Washington is about “improving alliance capabilities” and nothing more.
Whereas South Korean troops have been beforehand required to fireside warning photographs at any North Koreans crossing into the strip of land that divides the 2 nations, they’re now permitted to immediately interact infiltrators. “We look forward to completing the exercises, as we always do”.
The Kaesong industrial zone has been seen as the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation.
North Korea is intolerant of any outside criticism of its leadership, led by Kim Jong Un. South Korea returned fire, but no casualties were reported.
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Every week later, the South started utilizing loudspeakers to broadcast anti-Pyongyang rhetoric throughout the western and central elements of the border, resorting to a follow suspended by each side since 2004.
