North Korea put border troops on high alert after drone claims

Soo-Hyang Choi, Bloomberg News on Oct 13, 2024

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North Korea briefly ordered its troops along the South Korean border to stand ready to fire after accusing Seoul of sending drones into its capital Pyongyang in what it called a “war provocation.”

The general staff of North Korea’s army directed artillery units over the weekend to “get fully ready to open fire” for an immediate strike on enemy targets if a similar infiltration recurs, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday.

The order was issued on Oct. 12 and was active until Oct. 13, according to the statement. North Korea claims that Seoul sent drones into Pyongyang three times this month, scattering leaflets denouncing the Kim Jong Un regime.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it is monitoring North Korea’s activities and is ready to counter any provocations. It has declined to say whether it sent drones across the border.

“The cause of this whole situation lies in North Korea’s trash balloons. We strongly warn North Korea to halt sending the filthy and vulgar trash balloons,” the JCS said in a statement.

North Korea has sent thousands of trash-laden balloons across the border since late May in a show of anger at South Korea’s joint military drills with the U.S. and other acts at the border, which Pyongyang has long said represents a threat to its sovereignty. The balloons have been a nuisance for Seoul and surrounding areas, with some causing fires.

But South Korea has refrained from shooting them down out of fear of spreading possibly harmful materials or causing collateral damage in highly populated areas from gunfire.

The latest incidents have added to rising tensions along the heavily militarized border and authorities in South Korea are on high alert for further escalation. In July, a South Korean official warned that North Korea may be considering a nuclear test closer to the U.S. presidential election.

Under the latest guidance, eight North Korean artillery brigades at the border were ordered to be “fully armed at full wartime strength, while other military units were also put on alert to intensify monitoring,” according to KCNA.

“The infiltration of drones” above Pyongyang “constitutes an undeniable war provocation,” North Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the country would take action against any further incursions.

Last month, North Korea released its first photos of a facility to enrich uranium for atomic bombs, showing leader Kim touring a plant at the center of a program that has been a point of friction with the U.S. for more than 20 years.

Both Koreas have been ramping up their unmanned aerial vehicle programs, with North Korea unveiling a suicide attack drone in August. The level of North Korea’s drone capabilities remain questionable but Kim has made the development of drones for use in the air and at sea a top priority.

South Korea received a wake-up call about threats from drones when Pyongyang sent five UAVs across the border in 2022, including one that flew near President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office in Seoul. South Korea’s military tried and failed to shoot the devices down. One complicating factor was a reluctance to fire munitions in heavily populated areas.