North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, accused South Korea on Saturday of deliberately shirking responsibility for alleged drone flights over the North’s capital, warning of a “terrible calamity” if such actions persist.
The statement came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets were detected flying over Pyongyang on October 3 and again on Wednesday and Thursday. The ministry announced that North Korean forces would prepare “all means of attack” capable of targeting the southern side of the border and the South Korean military, pledging to respond without warning if South Korean drones entered its airspace again.
Initially, South Korea’s defence minister denied the accusations, but the South’s military later altered its stance, stating it could not confirm whether the North’s claims were accurate. Kim Yo Jong, a critical foreign policy official in the North Korean regime, emphasised that the South Korean military’s ambiguous statements suggest they are either the “main culprit or accomplice” in the incident.
“If the military stood by while its citizens employed drones, a widely recognised multi-purpose military tool, to violate another country’s sovereignty, thereby increasing the risk of armed conflict with a potential adversary, this would amount to intentional acquiescence and collusion,” she asserted.
She further warned, “The moment a South Korean drone is discovered once again in skies above our capital, a terrible calamity will surely occur. I hope that does not happen.”
The South Korean military and government did not immediately respond to Kim’s comments. Tensions between the two Koreas are currently at their highest levels in years, with an increase in missile tests from North Korea and intensified joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
The animosity has been heightened by Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns recently enacted by both sides. Since May, North Korea has launched thousands of balloons containing paper waste, plastic, and other refuse into the South in retaliation for South Korean activists who sent anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the border. In response, South Korea’s military has used loudspeakers along the border to broadcast propaganda and K-pop music to North Korea.
North Korea remains extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of the authoritarian regime led by Kim Jong Un and his family’s dynastic rule. South Korean officials have expressed concerns that North Korea may seek to escalate tensions with Seoul and Washington ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. Experts suggest that Kim’s long-term objective is to compel Washington to recognise North Korea as a nuclear power and to negotiate security and economic concessions from a position of strength.
In written responses to questions from The Associated Press this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol indicated that North Korea is likely preparing significant provocations around the U.S. election, which could include a nuclear test or a flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, aiming to draw attention from Washington.
