[Anchor]
North Korea's Kim Yo-jong has warned that new countermeasures and loudspeaker systems will be placed on standby along the Military Demarcation Line. This is interpreted as an intention to keep them ready for operation at any time. Meanwhile, the South Korean government has sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council regarding the landmine explosion incident caused by North Korea.
Reporter Cho Min-ki reports.
[Reporter]
North Korean officials, including Workers' Party Vice Department Director Kim Yo-jong, inspect what appear to be solidly built concrete barriers, tactical roads, and barbed-wire fences near the Military Demarcation Line.
This confirms that North Korea's so-called "border fortification" work, aimed at physically severing the two Koreas, has made considerable progress.
After unveiling these facilities the day before yesterday (October 21), North Korea continued its barrage of statements yesterday (October 22).
Vice Department Director Kim Yo-jong announced that new countermeasures along the entire border would enter a mission-ready posture, and loudspeaker facilities would also be placed on standby within a few days.
This is seen as an intention to keep them ready for operation at any moment. Kim mentioned on October 19 that North Korea was reviewing the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts, publicly stated the day before yesterday (October 21) that operations would begin within this month, and issued another related message yesterday.
This is a so-called "salami-slicing" incremental pressure tactic.
It is interpreted as a demand to halt the South Korean military's warning broadcasts and warning shots, which Pyongyang appears to view as a tangible threat to its construction activities.
[Cho Han-bum / Chair Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification: "It seems Kim Jong-un has set a target deadline. To wrap up the work in the meantime, they are issuing warnings to the South Korean military, but a physical clash also appears to be a burden for them as well..."]
The South Korean military reaffirmed its stance that it will take proportional countermeasures if North Korea begins operating loudspeakers directed toward the South, and as North Korea's offensive intensifies, government responses are also taking visible shape.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council regarding the landmine explosion incident and the recent situation in the Demilitarized Zone.
In the two-page letter, the government reportedly highlighted findings from an investigation showing that the landmine explosion was caused by mines laid by North Korean troops, emphasizing that this constitutes a violation of the Armistice Agreement.
The letter is also known to have demanded an apology and responsible measures from North Korea, while urging Pyongyang to come forward for dialogue to restore trust.
The letter sent by the government is expected to be adopted as an official UN Security Council document soon. The dispatch of the letter is seen as an effort by Seoul to step up diplomatic responses in the international community as North Korea continues to escalate its offensive against the South.
Video by Cho Chun-dong | Video Editing by Jung Sung-hoon
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