North Korea calls claims of artillery shelling as ‘deceptive operation’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – North Korea on Sunday said it did not fire artillery shells as claimed by South Korea in what it called a “deceptive operation” but detonated blasting powder.

Pyongyang said the “deceptive operation,” which Seoul called artillery shelling by North, was aimed at “detecting ability” of the South Korean military “gangsters engrossed in bravo and blind bravery.”

Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea, said Pyongyang detonated blasting powder which “simulated the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery for 60 times.”

“However, the KPA (Korean People’s Army) did not fire even a single shell into the relevant waters,” said Kim, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

KPA is official name of the North Korean military.

Her scathing statement came as Pyongyang continued shelling of artillery firing for the third consecutive day, according to Seoul.

The South Korean military said on Sunday that North Korea fired artillery shells into northern side of the maritime buffer zone between the divided Koreas, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

Pyongyang launched “artillery shelling” on Friday, a day after South Korea and the US completed their joint military drills close to the North Korean border.

Seoul fired its own artillery shelling in response to North Korea on Friday.

According to Seoul, Pyongyang fired 200, 60 and 90 artillery shells on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Kim said: “The ROK (Republic of Korea) military gangsters quickly took the bait we threw.” RoK is the official name of South Korea.

She also accused South Korean media of making a “fuss” following Pyongyang’s firing of artillery shells since Friday.

“Media of the ROK make a fuss, carrying all at once the military gangsters’ announcement in papers and screens,” said Kim.

“It seems now that the KPA must have been branded as a ‘provoker’ and ‘chief criminal escalating tensions’,” she added.

“It is needless to mention how the ROK people are shocked,” she added.

Kim warned: “I make myself clear once again that the safety catch of trigger of the KPA had already been slipped.

​​​​​​​“As already declared, the KPA will launch an immediate military strike if the enemy makes even a slight provocation,” she said, adding: “Misjudgment, conjecture, obstinacy, and arrogance will invite irretrievable misfortune.”