Even though North Korea is already in a constant state of war with South Korea, Kim Jong Un has ordered his troops to be ready for war after the two sides got into an escalating spat that involves over loudspeakers.
The new tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul started in August, when South Korea claimed that North Korean soldiers were planting landmines near a military outpost on the South Korean side of the border, notes The Los Angeles Times. South Korea then posted loudspeakers at 11 points along the border and the North posted their own to spread propaganda messages. And then U.S. and South Korea military exercises started this past Monday. North Korea also believes that South Korea was shelling its territory Thursday.
So, this morning, a North Korean military official told the Associated Press that Kim has met with party and defense officials and “reviewed and approved the final attack operation.”
It’s not clear how North Korea plans to immediately respond. The official also denied that the North had recently fired anything to provoke the South.
According to the BBC News, the North’s state-run KCNA reported that Kim has already declared a “semi-state of war” and will take action if the South doesn’t shut down the loudspeakers. Troops were even ordered to be “fully ready for any military operations at any time.”
screenshot from CNN YouTube video