North Korea on Saturday said that warning shots fired by the South Korean military on Tuesday near the border between the two countries were a deliberate violation.
North Korea also said that threatening broadcasts from the South Korean military in the border region were only increasing.
Since last year, North Korea has been building barriers along the fortified border while blowing up inter-Korean roads and railway lines.
Pyongyang’s Army Lieutenant General Ko Jong Chol, Vice Chief of the General Staff, said the country would “take corresponding countermeasures” against any obstruction to the barrier-building project.
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He added: “Responsibility for the violations lies entirely on the shoulders of the South Korean armed forces in the case of aggressive military posturing and subsequent equivalent response from our side.”
The incident took place when a few North Korean soldiers near the demarcation line crossed into the other side, prompting South Korean guards to fire aerial warning shots.
This comes at a time when the United States and South Korea are conducting a ten-day joint military exercise near the borders of the two countries. North Korea has objected to the exercises, describing them as a threat to the country.
North Korea has also ruled out any negotiations aimed at normalising relations between the two countries.
Last week, Kim Jong Un’s sister, who runs the media and public relations department of North Korea’s ruling party, said: “South Korea must not expect the normalisation of relations between the countries to take place, as it would be a mistake.”
North Korea again criticised the ongoing joint military drills by the US and South Korea, calling them “an extremely provocative … drill for an actual war”. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea said the exercises are defensive.
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