North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has given the South until 5pm today to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts before it declares a state of war.
Tension escalated on Thursday when North Korea fired shells into South Korea to protest against the broadcasts. The South responded with a barrage of 29 artillery shells.
Both sides said there were no casualties or damage in their territory, an indication that the rounds were fired as warning shots and not intended to inflict harm.
Neither side wants escalation into war, analysts said. But Jong Un has threatened to put feet on the ground if nothing this done by this evening.
Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said: ‘The fact that both sides’ shells didn’t damage anything means they did not want to spread an armed clash. There is always a chance for war but that chance is very, very low.’
The North’s shelling came after it had demanded last weekend that South Korea end the broadcasts or face military action – a relatively rare case of following up on its frequent threats against the South.
North Vs South: A rocky history:
Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, Pyongyang and Seoul have often exchanged threats and dozens of soldiers have been killed, yet the two sides have always pulled back from all out war.
But the renewed hostility is a further blow to South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s efforts to improve North-South ties, which have been virtually frozen since the deadly 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship, which Seoul blames on Pyongyang.
Park cancelled a scheduled event on Friday and made a visit to a military command post, dressed in army camouflage.
Its 48-hour ultimatum to halt the broadcasts, delivered in a letter to the South Korean Defence Ministry via a joint military communications channel, was also uncharacteristically specific. The deadline is around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday in Seoul.
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