North Korea Declares Artillery Prepared to ‘open fire’ on South
Artillery units have been instructed to get ready for a potential strike on South Korea, following claims that Seoul conducted drone flights over Pyongyang. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
North Korea's military has instructed its frontline artillery units to be fully prepared to "open fire" on South Korea following allegations that South Korean drones dropped propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, as reported by the state-run KCNA news agency on Sunday.
The North Korean government claimed on Friday that drones from the South flew over its capital three times this month, with two incidents occurring earlier this week. In response to past propaganda efforts, North Korea typically sent balloons filled with waste southward, but according to KCNA, the latest incidents warrant a more serious military reaction.
The KCNA stated, “The General Staff of the [Korean People’s Army] issued a preliminary operation order on October 12 to the combined artillery units along the border…to get fully ready to open fire,” citing the North Korean Defense Ministry.
The report noted that the order has placed “eight artillery brigades fully armed at full wartime strength on standby to open fire.”
According to a 2020 report by the RAND Corporation, a think tank funded by the US military, North Korea possesses more than 10,000 artillery pieces along its southern border, with around 6,000 of those within range of major South Korean population centers. The report estimates that if conflict were to erupt between the two Koreas, over 205,000 people could lose their lives in cities such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gimpo within just an hour.
In a statement released by KCNA on Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressed that Pyongyang perceives the South's actions of “leaflet-scattering” as “a grave politically-motivated provocation and an infringement upon sovereignty.”
“The moment that a drone of [South Korea] is discovered in the sky over our capital city once again will certainly lead to a horrible disaster,” Kim emphasized.
Initially, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun denied sending drones into North Korean airspace. However, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff later stated that they “cannot confirm whether the North Korean allegations are true or not.”
This latest drone incident follows North Korea's announcement of a successful test of a new variant of its Hwasong-11 ballistic missile, equipped with a "super-large" 4.5-ton conventional warhead. This development came shortly after the US and South Korea completed extensive military exercises in the region, which, while characterized as defensive by Washington and Seoul, were denounced by North Korea as “provocative war drills for aggression.”
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
The North Korean government claimed on Friday that drones from the South flew over its capital three times this month, with two incidents occurring earlier this week. In response to past propaganda efforts, North Korea typically sent balloons filled with waste southward, but according to KCNA, the latest incidents warrant a more serious military reaction.
The KCNA stated, “The General Staff of the [Korean People’s Army] issued a preliminary operation order on October 12 to the combined artillery units along the border…to get fully ready to open fire,” citing the North Korean Defense Ministry.
The report noted that the order has placed “eight artillery brigades fully armed at full wartime strength on standby to open fire.”
According to a 2020 report by the RAND Corporation, a think tank funded by the US military, North Korea possesses more than 10,000 artillery pieces along its southern border, with around 6,000 of those within range of major South Korean population centers. The report estimates that if conflict were to erupt between the two Koreas, over 205,000 people could lose their lives in cities such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gimpo within just an hour.
In a statement released by KCNA on Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressed that Pyongyang perceives the South's actions of “leaflet-scattering” as “a grave politically-motivated provocation and an infringement upon sovereignty.”
“The moment that a drone of [South Korea] is discovered in the sky over our capital city once again will certainly lead to a horrible disaster,” Kim emphasized.
Initially, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun denied sending drones into North Korean airspace. However, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff later stated that they “cannot confirm whether the North Korean allegations are true or not.”
This latest drone incident follows North Korea's announcement of a successful test of a new variant of its Hwasong-11 ballistic missile, equipped with a "super-large" 4.5-ton conventional warhead. This development came shortly after the US and South Korea completed extensive military exercises in the region, which, while characterized as defensive by Washington and Seoul, were denounced by North Korea as “provocative war drills for aggression.”
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
