AI Brief
- North Korea has instructed its border troops to respond if South Korean forces threaten their safety, according to state media reports.
- Kim Yo Jong confirmed new North Korean firepower units have taken positions at the border, following increased fortification since April 2024.
- Seoul has pledged to punish any further provocations by Pyongyang as tensions rise along the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone.
NORTH Korea has told its border troops to take action if South Korean forces threaten their safety, state media said on Wednesday (October 21), raising the risk of a clash along the heavily armed frontier.
The report came a day after Seoul pledged to punish "resolutely" any further provocation by Pyongyang if North Korea acted on threats to strengthen its military posture along the border.
North Korean Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon inspected fortifications on the border with South Korea on Tuesday (October 20), accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA reported.
Kim Yo Jong said new firepower units had "taken their firing positions" at the border, KCNA reported.
Tensions between North and South Korea have risen since Pyongyang began fortifying its border in April 2024.
The two countries are separated by the Demilitarized Zone that was established when the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953.
