PH monitoring situation in Korea
THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is closely monitoring the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula after North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near their border.
“The Philippines urges restraint on both sides and calls for the immediate de-escalation of tensions in order to maintain regional peace and stability,” a statement from the DFA said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has reportedly placed his troops under a “wartime state” after the exchange of gunfire.
PYONGYANG, North Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday declared his frontline troops in a “quasi-state of war” and ordered them to prepare for battle a day after South Korea fired dozens of artillery rounds across the rivals’ border in response to what the it said were several rounds of North Korean artillery launched at the South.
The North has made similar bombastic claims in the decades since the countries were divided following World War II, and the huge numbers of soldiers and military equipment stationed along the Koreas’ tense border mean the area is always essentially in a “quasi-state of war.” Still, the North’s declaration could signal trouble because South Korea has vowed to hit back with overwhelming strength should North Korea attack again.
North Korea says it did not fire anything, a claim Seoul called nonsense.
At an emergency military meeting, Kim said his troops would “enter a wartime state” and be fully ready for any military operations starting Friday evening, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The North has also given Seoul a deadline of Saturday evening to remove border loudspeakers that, after a lull of 11 years, have started broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda.
The report said that “military commanders were urgently dispatched for operations to attack South Korean psychological warfare facilities if the South doesn’t stop operating them.”
Seoul said the North fired across the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday to back up an earlier threat to attack the South Korean loudspeakers. The South fired back.
North Korea later said the South Korean shells landed near four military posts but caused no injuries. No one was reported injured in the South, either, though hundreds were evacuated from frontline towns.
The loudspeaker broadcasts began after South Korea accused the North of planting land mines that maimed two South Korean soldiers earlier this month.
The North’s army warned in a message later on Thursday that it would take further military action if South Korea didn’t pull down the loudspeakers within 48 hours.
South Korea raised its military readiness to its highest level. Defense officials said South Korea will continue the loudspeaker broadcasts despite the threats.