North Korea threatens to declare war

North Korea claimed on Saturday to have found fragments of a crashed South Korean military drone, and threatened to retaliate, intensifying the standoff on the peninsula. 

According to Pyongyang’s state-run news agency KCNA, the UAV was likely used to drop leaflets over the capital. Similar drones were spotted scattering leaflets full of “political propaganda and slander” earlier this month, the outlet said. 

“If a violation of the DPRK’s territorial ground, air and waters by ROK’s military means is discovered and confirmed again, it will be regarded as a grave military provocation against the sovereignty of the DPRK and a declaration of war and an immediate retaliatory attack will be launched,” KCNA warned, as quoted by Reuters. 

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and a top government official, claimed on Thursday that Pyongyang had “clear evidence” that the South had violated the North's airspace. 

South Korea has refused to confirm whether its drones have crossed the border. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Colonel Lee Sung-jun told reporters this week that the matter was “something that should be clarified by North Korea.” 

Pyongyang has engaged in hostile rhetoric in recent months, accusing its southern neighbor of “provocations.” This week, North Korea blew up sections of roads leading to South Korea, and vowed to “completely separate” the two countries and transform the border area into “an eternal fortress.”

In January, Kim Jong-un proposed abandoning the longstanding commitment to reunification, and labeled South Korea a “principal enemy.” 

The tensions mark a contrast to a series of friendly gestures in the late 2010s when then US President Donald Trump sought to de-escalate the situation on the Korean peninsula. However, a meeting between Trump and Kim in Hanoi in 2019 ended in failure, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands. Pyongyang has since ramped up missile tests, while the US has launched more joint military drills with South Korea.