SEOUL: Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a sharp warning to South Korea, threatening a “horrible disaster” if any South Korean drones are found flying over Pyongyang.
In a statement released by North Korean state media, KCNA, Kim Yo Jong criticized South Korea’s military response to North Korea’s recent accusations that South Korean drones had entered Pyongyang’s airspace.
On Friday, North Korea’s foreign ministry claimed that South Korean drones had flown over the capital during nighttime operations over the past two weeks, prompting the North to consider retaliatory measures. However, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated they could not verify these allegations.
Kim Yo Jong emphasized the gravity of the situation, saying, “The fact that drones were used to carry anti-North Korea leaflets is the most serious aspect of this recent incident.” She added that South Korea’s military would bear responsibility if it failed to detect drones from non-governmental organizations crossing into the North.
Tensions between the two countries have been rising as North Korea has been sending balloons filled with trash across the border into South Korea since May. Pyongyang claims these actions are in retaliation for South Korean activists and North Korean defectors who send balloons carrying aid packages and leaflets that criticize Kim Jong Un’s leadership into the North.