South Korean President Park Geun-hye (C, front) is seen at the headquarters of the Third Army in South Korea on Aug. 21, 2015. South Korea's top military officer on Friday warned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of "a harsh price" for any further provocations. (Photo：Xinhua/Seigadai Palace)
South Korea's top military officer on Friday warned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of "a harsh price" for any further provocations.
Defense Minister Han Min-koo issued a statement to the public, saying that if the DPRK causes any provocations on the excuse of propaganda broadcasts, the South Korean military will sternly and severely retaliate and make the DPRK pay a harsh price for the provocations.
Han said that South Korea and the United States, which have been maintaining close coordination, would deter any DPRK provocations.
His statement came as Pyongyang issued a warning Thursday of" military actions" unless South Korea stops airing the propaganda broadcasts in border areas until 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday.
South Korea resumed the psychological warfare from Aug. 10 as two South Korean soldiers were maimed on Aug. 4 by the blast of landmines, which Seoul claimed had been planted by DPRK forces. Pyongyang denied any role in the incident.
On Thursday, the two Koreas reportedly exchanged fires across border over the propaganda broadcasts, which the DPRK has called " a declaration of war."
Citing the mines blast and the shelling, Han said that those were criminal acts revealing the DPRK's bellicosity, which were in violation of the armistice agreement and non-aggression treaty.
He added that propaganda broadcasts were an appropriate response to the DPRK's landmine provocation, blaming the elevated tensions on the Korean Peninsula on the DPRK provocations.
The minister vowed to cut off the vicious circle this time of the DPRK provocations with a stern retaliation against further provocations.
The DPRK side has denied firing a shell into the territory of the south, saying that it was an excuse for Seoul to make such a severe military provocation which is intolerable for the DPRK.
The DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the country's frontline combined forces to enter state of war from 5p.m. (0830 GMT) Friday, the official KCNA news agency reported.
