S. Korea reacts to N. Korea’s “deceptive operation” statement

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, claimed on January 7 that the North conducted a "deceptive operation" by detonating explosives simulating the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery the previous day.

The vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee said the deceptive operation was aimed at exposing the South Korean military's detection capability, warning of "immediate actions" if the South provokes, Yonhap News Agency reports citing a military source.

In response, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) called Kim's statement on the South Korean military's detection capability "psychological warfare," urging the North to cease acts that escalate tension in the border area.

North Korea fired some 200 artillery shells from its southwestern coastal areas Friday, prompting the South Korean troops on the front-line islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong to stage live-fire drills in response.

Most of the North Korean shells splashed into the maritime buffer zone, with some falling in waters as close as seven kilometres north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL).