North Korea‘s defence ministry has ordered its artillery units near the border with South Korea to be prepared to open fire, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The order was issued on October 12 by the general staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and was in response to alleged unmanned drones sent by South Korea carrying propaganda leaflets into Pyongyang’s airspace.
The order instructed “eight artillery brigades fully armed at full wartime strength on standby to open fire” until 8 pm on Sunday. Additionally, other units were directed to heighten their monitoring and remain on full alert, while anti-air observation posts in Pyongyang were reinforced.
North Korea claimed that South Korea had sent drones carrying propaganda leaflets on October 3, and again on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.
The leaflets were reportedly filled with “inflammatory rumours and rubbish,” according to KCNA. The North’s foreign ministry said that flying drones into Pyongyang’s airspace “could be considered a military attack” and deemed it “an intolerable and unforgivable grave provocation.”
Initially, South Korean defence minister Kim Yong-Hyun denied the claim, but the country’s joint chiefs of staff later issued a statement saying they “cannot confirm whether the North Korean allegations are true or not.” The North’s army had previously announced that it would “permanently shut off and block the southern border” with South Korea