Pyongyang threatens Seoul with ‘serious security crisis’ over drills

Seoul, Aug 11 (EFE).- North Korea on Wednesday threatened South Korea with a “serious security crisis” for continuing with its joint military exercises with the United States.

The director of the United Front Department (in charge of inter-Korean affairs), Kim Yong-chol, denounced the exercises in a statement published by the state KCNA news agency, as Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North Korean leader, did the previous day.

“They must be made to clearly understand how dearly they have to pay for answering our good faith with hostile acts after letting go the opportunity for improved inter-Korean relations,” Kim Yong-chol wrote.

“In disregard of our advice, they opted for alliance with outsiders, not harmony with compatriots, escalation of tension, not détente, and confrontation, not improved relations,” he added.

The North Korean military assures that the North will make the South realize “what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice.”

The verbal attacks on Seoul and Washington come just two weeks after the two Koreas restarted their communications hotlines at Pyongyang’s request.

Why the allies have decided to continue with the maneuvers, which were canceled in 2018 to facilitate rapprochement, is unknown.

Some experts point out that Seoul would be opting for greater caution before bowing to the wishes of the regime, which last year unilaterally decided to stop using cross-border lines of communication and destroyed the inter-Korean liaison office.

The decision was in protest of the sending of anti-regime propaganda balloons across the border by activists from the South, an activity that Seoul now prohibits after passing a controversial law that, according to its detractors, violates freedom of expression. EFE

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