North Korea condemns South Korean military actions near border

North Korea has criticised what it describes as provocative actions by South Korean forces near the southern border. 

Lieutenant General Ko Jong Chol, vice-chief of the Korean People's Army (KPA) General Staff, stated that firing warning shots at North Korea personnel engaged in a barrier project on August 19 “should be stopped immediately,” Caliber.Az reports via KCNA. 

The KPA said the barrier project is intended to reinforce the border and “poses no threat to anyone,” noting that the United States, which commands South Korean forces, had been informed in advance about the project on June 25 and July 18.

Ko accused South Korean forces of escalating tensions, including expanding loudspeaker broadcasts with threatening messages such as “We’ll shoot,” and linked the timing of recent actions to large-scale joint military exercises in the region.

“All facts go to clearly prove that the sinister intention of the US and the ROK [Republic of Korea] warmongers to pursue military confrontation with the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] remains unchanged,” he said.

The statement concluded that North Korea would consider further obstruction of the barrier project as a deliberate provocation and warned that it would take corresponding countermeasures if tensions escalate.

By Sabina Mammadli