North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has placed his military on high-alert and declared a “quasi-state of war” in frontline areas Friday after North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near the border.
Following an emergency meeting of the North’s central military commission, Mr. Kim said frontline units would “enter a wartime state” starting at 5:00 p.m. local time Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Pyongyang has made similar declarations in the past, including during periods of heightened tension in 2010 and 2013. The two countries are technically already in a state of war since the truce that ended their 1950s conflict did not become a peace treaty.
Thursday’s violence began when North Korea fired shells at South Korean military positions along the western border. The South responded by launching dozens of 155-millimeter artillery rounds at the North.
Neither side reported damage or casualties from the shells, most of which appeared to fall along the four-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone, or DMZ, separating the two Koreas.
North-South relations have been particularly strained after Seoul accused Pyongyang of planting landmines that exploded this month near the border, wounding two South Korean soldiers. Seoul responded by resuming anti-North propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers near the border.
North Warns of More Strikes
The North warned Thursday it would take further military action if the South did not stop the broadcasts within 48 hours. South Korean officials insisted the broadcasts would continue.
North Korea denies firing the shells. But the North’s provocative actions were “clear,” according to South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee.
“Such [denial] can be seen as an attempt to cover up the heaven with its palm,” Jeong said Friday. “Therefore, it makes us even more dubious about the sincerity [of Pyongyang].”
Expectations are high that Pyongyang will follow through on its threat to initiate some type of limited attack after the 48-hour deadline expires on Saturday.
Korea analyst Daniel Pinkston with the International Crisis Group in Seoul said neither side feels it can back down but, neither side wants war either.
“I think that both sides want to avoid a high intensity conflict but nevertheless there’s a possibility of miscalculation and inadvertent escalation,” said Pinkston.
US Slams North’s ‘Provocative Actions’
The United States Thursday said it was concerned about the cross-border violence and officials in Washington said they were closely monitoring the situation.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said that such “provocative actions” by the North only heighten tensions. He urged Pyongyang to refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and security.
The tensions come amid ongoing annual joint military exercises that began Monday and which North Korea condemns as preparation for war. These exercises include South Korea, the U.S. and other allied countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Pinkston said having the multinational military presence on the Korean Peninsula might deter the North, but will also likely be a restraining influence on the South.
“Those countries do not want to be entrapped and dragged into a military conflict over some slight skirmishes and a few artillery rounds flying across the DMZ, said Pinkston.”
Seoul Raises Alert Level
South Korea has raised its military readiness alert to its highest level, Jindogae 1, indicating immediate danger, imminent attack or invasion.
South Korea’s National Security Council met with President Park Geun-hye about North Korea artillery shelling in border area. On Friday she visited South Korea’s third army headquarters located south of Seoul.
South Korea Friday also limited entry into the Kaesong industrial park, a jointly run venture that lies just on the northern side of the border.
The exchange of fire was the first between the two Koreas since last October, when North Korean soldiers approached the military border and did not retreat after the South fired warning shots, the South Korean Defense Ministry said at the time. The North’s soldiers fired back in an exchange of gunfire that lasted about 10 minutes, with no casualties.
VOA Seoul News Correspondent Brian Padden and News Producer Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
