Seoul: South Korea told North Korea that it will see “the end of its regime” if it hurts its own people. This came after North Korea said that the supposed flight of drones over its city would cause a “horrible disaster.”
The threat was made by Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the South’s defense ministry. It was reported by Yonhap news agency the day before that the North said the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times this month.
As the defense ministry made clear, “if North Korea threatens the safety of our people, that day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” they said in a statement sent to reporters.
It said, “Kim Yo-jong’s comments show the North’s hypocritical behavior, which continues to provoke and has recently turned to rude and small-minded actions like floating trash-filled balloons.”
Kim said in the statement that the North was ready to take “strong corresponding retaliatory action” if anti-Pyongyang materials were flown into the North again by drones. He also warned that the “attack time” could come at any time.
Kim said, “That time is not set by us.” “A terrible accident will definitely happen as soon as a ROK drone is seen flying over our capital city again.” ROK is short for the Republic of Korea, which is South Korea’s official name.
The People Power Party (PPP), which is in power, agreed with the defense ministry’s position on Sunday.
“The North’s irrational and careless threats won’t threaten South Korea’s safety.” According to a statement from the PPP, Han Zeea, the country’s military is very strong because of its relationship with the US. This is in case Pyongyang strikes.
The North said that it sent more trash-filled balloons across the border into the South as a response on the same day.
The defense ministry of the South said that the North was putting the blame on South Koreans who were sending anti-Pyongyang messages to make up for its “continued failure” to run the country’s affairs, such as the failed launches of military spy satellites.
It was a “typical ploy” by the North to start a fight within South Korea, according to the ministry. The dictatorial government decided to do it again because it was “anxious.”
“The North Korean government should first stop launching trash balloons into the sky, which is embarrassing for the whole world, instead of being so scared of a single drop of unidentifiable “drone letters,”” it said.
The defense ministry also said that the North has already crossed into the South’s sky “over 10 times,” which seems to mean since 2022.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said on Friday that South Korean drones carrying messages were seen flying over Pyongyang at night on October 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. They also said they would use force if these flights happen again.
At first, Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun said that the military had not sent any drones across the border. But later, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said they could not confirm whether the North’s claims were true.
In his statement on Sunday, Kim Yo-jong disagreed with the South Korean military’s claim that it “cannot confirm” the North’s claims about the drones. He said that the military’s answer basically admitted that it was responsible.
“This lack of denying or admitting the case shows that the military admitted on its own that it was the main criminal or involved in the current incident. It shows what kind of mental state it is when it can admit the case but not deny it,” she said.
On Sunday, the North’s state-run newspaper had angry comments from Northlanders about the supposed flying of the drones on the front page, which seemed to be an attempt to make people dislike the South.
It was written in the Rodong Sinmun that “millions of our people are boiling with unstoppable rage” and “roaring” with the desire for “merciless revenge.”
The newspaper said that some people in the North called the South “puppet trash,” “scum,” and “rats,” and they wanted to “quickly turn the enemy’s stronghold into a sea of fire.”
The newspaper also put Kim’s most recent statement about the drones on the front page, which is unusual because the North usually doesn’t tell its people about comments it makes about the South or the US.
People think that the claimed drone flights are part of the secretive regime’s plan to spread hate against the South in order to support leader Kim’s desire to end the policy of unity and make the two Koreas into separate states that are at odds with each other.