UPDATE - Kim’s sister visits southern border amid tensions over DMZ mine explosion
- Visit comes after South Korea’s top general threatens decisive retaliation against further North Korean provocations
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- Visit comes after South Korea’s top general threatens decisive retaliation against further North Korean provocations
ADDS BROADCASTS TO BE RESUMED; NEW STATEMENT; REVISES LEDE
By Faisal Mahmud and Saadet Gokce
ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo-jong and senior military officials inspected border fortifications on Wednesday amid escalating tensions with South Korea following concerns about a deadly landmine explosion.
Kim accompanied military Marshal Pak Jong-chon during the inspection of fortification work along the inter-Korean border, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"The border has been clearly blocked and turned into a fortress more thoroughly," and it "proves that the history miswritten by us for a long time is being corrected and the current and future security of the DPRK guaranteed qualitatively," she said.
Kim said her brother is stressed that the border should be a permanent line never to be crossed.
"If the border is fortified, the danger of military conflict in this area will undoubtedly be eliminated," she said, accusing South Korea of conducting broadcasts along the border and firing shots on at least two locations on Wednesday.
She added that North Korea would begin broadcasting along the entire border by the end of October.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who assumed the presidency last June, had ordered the military to stop propaganda broadcasts and urged activists to stop sending balloons across the border in an effort to reduce tensions.
The inspection came on the same day South Korea’s military leadership warned of decisive retaliation against further North Korean provocations.
Tensions escalated after Sept. 21 landmine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone injured three South Korean soldiers, two seriously.
Seoul and the UN Command blamed North Korean mines, an allegation Pyongyang denied.
North Korea has reinforced its southern border since April 2024, installing mines, fences and anti-tank barriers.
On Monday, Kim threatened additional tactical weapons deployments and renewed propaganda broadcasts toward South Korea.
Saadet Gökce,Faisal Mahmud