Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has accused South Korea of firing warning shots and issuing warning broadcasts at the border numerous times since August, claiming Seoul did so under the pretext that North Korean soldiers had crossed the border. Her statement was issued as unconfirmed rumours about her brother's health circulated online.
What Kim Yo Jong Said
Referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea, she said: "A grave situation is prevailing along the southern border due to the reckless behaviour of the ROK military gangsters."
She said her country's military was considering "deploying more tactical strike means along the southern border as a preemptive and suppressive measure to deal with contingency, and of resuming the loudspeaker broadcasting against the ROK."
Rumours About the Leader
The statement came as rumours circulated online that Kim Jong Un had suffered a brain haemorrhage and passed away. Wanjun Xie, chairman of the China Democracy Party, claimed that the leader had died and that Kim Yo Jong had taken control. This has not been confirmed.
Mine Blasts and Border Tensions
North Korea has threatened to deploy additional weapons along its border as hostilities grow after last month's mine blasts injured three South Korean soldiers. South Korea formally blamed North Korea earlier this month for planting the mines that caused the blasts on September 21. Seoul urged the North to apologise and remove other mines, but North Korea denied responsibility for the explosions and warned of retaliation if provoked.
Tensions along the border have increased in recent years as North Korea added mines, barbed wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other front-line fortifications in line with its policy of terminating ties with the South.
Warning Shots and Loudspeakers
South Korea's military earlier said North Korean soldiers violated the border's military demarcation line 50 times this year during their fortification works, and that it responded by firing warning shots and making warning broadcasts.
Loudspeaker broadcasts are one of the Cold War-era psychological warfare campaigns the two nations have used in times of confrontation. South Korea's liberal government, which came into power last year, halted such broadcasts as part of efforts to improve relations with the North, and North Korea later stopped its own broadcasts.
