The North Korean military has issued a direct threat to South Korea last Friday, stating that it will initiate various military attacks against South Korea's navy. The North is accusing the South of continuously violating its western sea border.
In a military broadcast from its state radio, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea has claimed that the South's navy has made "military provocation" by intruding on its territorial waters. The North claims the intrusions have happened multiple times, between May 1 and 7, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"From this time on, there will be unannounced targeted strikes against puppet navy vessels that violate our military's maritime border in the west coast hotspot waters," the KCNA stated in its broadcast.
The South however, maintains that its navy has never trespassed onto the North's territorial waters. An official in South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has called the North's threat of violence as "insane," and maintains that the South's navy vessels have never crossed the country's maritime borders, according to Reuters.
The Northern Limit Line (NLL), which was drawn by the United Nations Command after the Korean War, is not recognized by the North. North Korea has continually demanded that the line be drawn farther south, thereby increasing its territory.
The two Koreas have engaged each other in violent, bloody battles near the border in 1999, 2002 and 2009. The skirmishes resulted in massive casualties for both sides, according to Reuters.
South Korea expresses "serious regrets" regarding the North's warning against its navy's "normal operations."
In a message to the North Korean command, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Min-Seok has issued a response to the North's threat, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"It is not our side but your side that brings up tension along the NLL. Your threatening words and deeds by distorting facts are stoking unnecessary military tension between the two Koreas," he said.
"If you act provocatively while ignoring our warnings, we will sternly and strongly respond to them to the degree where you will bitterly repent," he added, calling for the North's full respect and acknowledgement of the UN-drawn maritime border.
North Korea often issues threats against countries like the United States of America and South Korea using its state media.
