North Korea's Pak Jong Chon at Southern Border Fortification Site: "Counterattack Immediately if the Enemy Provokes"

North Korea Steps Up Threats Against South Korea Following Kim Yo Jong's Remarks

Pak Jong Chon, an adviser to North Korea's Ministry of National Defence who is known as a powerful figure in the military, visited a construction site for fortifications in the border area and instructed troops to "counterattack immediately" if South Korean forces threaten the safety of North Korean troops. His warning of a military response, following Kim Yo Jong's announcement that North Korea was considering resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea and deploying additional tactical strike assets, has raised the level of threats.

North Korean Ministry of National Defence adviser Pak Jong Chon inspected key sites at construction work to fortify the southern border on the 20th, alongside Workers’ Party Secretary Ri Il Hwan, Party Department Director Kim Yo Jong, and senior commanders of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, the Korean Central News Agency reported on the 21st. Yonhap News Agency

According to North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on October 21, Pak inspected key sites at the "southern border fortification" construction site on October 20. Pak is known as one of the key figures in the North Korean military and was reappointed vice chairman of the Workers' Party Central Military Commission in August this year. Kim, Workers' Party Secretary Ri Il Hwan, and senior commanders of the Korean People's Army General Staff accompanied him.

"If the enemy, after issuing warning broadcasts and firing warning shots, carries out a provocation that actually threatens the safety of our troops, we must never tolerate it and must counterattack immediately," Pak said. "This is no time to sit around trading verbal attacks."

He added, "The border forces of Korea must respond to the despicable enemy's reckless behavior with highly skilled, professional and overwhelming military action." He stressed the importance of taking proactive measures to ensure the safety and lives of service members, saying, "The time has come for a firepower deployment that leaves the enemy no choice but to fear us."

He also rejected the South Korean military's assessment that North Korean troops had crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). Pak claimed, "The claim that our troops 'crossed the line' is a deliberate and premeditated falsehood intended to shift responsibility for escalating tensions onto us in pursuit of ulterior motives," adding, "We are doing what we need to do on our own land."

Since what has been called the "western front landmine explosion" incident, in which three South Korean generals were injured, North Korea has maintained that it will continue its border work, justifying it as an exercise of sovereignty.

Kim said, "Our military leadership stressed that we must make that gang of thugs realize that our new firepower units have taken up firing positions." However, the news agency did not specify the types of weapons in the firepower units or where they had been deployed.

Referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kim said, "The head of state must make not even an inch of concession in exercising territorial sovereignty and has ordered that the border with the hostile state be made as permanent as possible." She also claimed, "The historic process of making the southern border of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea permanent can never be reversed," making clear that North Korea intends to continue the construction work.

North Korea has continued work to fortify the "border line" around the MDL, including installing fences and anti-tank obstacles and laying mines. The South Korean military responds when North Korean troops cross the MDL during the work, using warning broadcasts and warning shots. North Korea, in turn, claims that the South Korean military's response threatens the safety of its troops and obstructs the construction work.

In a statement on October 19, Kim criticized the South Korean military's warning broadcasts and warning shots, saying North Korea was considering deploying additional tactical strike assets in the border area and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.