North Korea Accuses South Korea of Flying Drones to its Capital and Threatens to Attack Next Time

A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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North Korea Accuses South Korea of Flying Drones to its Capital and Threatens to Attack Next Time

A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea has accused rival South Korea of flying drones to its capital to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that South Korean drones were detected in the night skies of Pyongyang on Oct. 3 and Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The ministry accused the South of violating North Korea’s “sacred” sovereignty and threatening its security, and said its forces will prepare “all means of attack” and respond without warning if South Korean drones are detected in its territory again, The AP reported.

“The safety lock on our trigger has now been released,” the ministry said. “We will be prepared for everything and will be watching. The criminals should no longer gamble with the lives of their citizens.”

South Korea’s government and military didn’t immediately comment on the North’s statement.

Tensions between the rival Koreas have escalated in recent months as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ramped up weapons tests and threats and South Korea has responded by strengthening its joint military exercises with the United States.

Since May, North Korea has also sent thousands of balloons carrying paper waste, plastic and other trash to drop on the South, in a bizarre psychological warfare campaign that worsened the animosity between the nations.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it will permanently block its border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures to cope with “confrontational hysteria” by South Korean and US forces.

North Korea’s military said in a statement on state media that it will “completely cut off roads and railways” linked to South Korea and “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures.”

North Korea called its steps a “self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security” of the country and accused its rivals of “getting ever more reckless in their confrontational hysteria.” North Korea cited what it called various military exercises in South Korea, the deployment of US strategic assets and its rivals’ harsh rhetoric.



Earthquake of 7.4 Magnitude Strikes off Russia's Kamchatka Region, Tsunami Warning Lifted

A handout shakemap made available by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hitting off Kamchatka, Russia, 20 July 2025. EPA/USGS HANDOUT
A handout shakemap made available by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hitting off Kamchatka, Russia, 20 July 2025. EPA/USGS HANDOUT
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Earthquake of 7.4 Magnitude Strikes off Russia's Kamchatka Region, Tsunami Warning Lifted

A handout shakemap made available by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hitting off Kamchatka, Russia, 20 July 2025. EPA/USGS HANDOUT
A handout shakemap made available by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hitting off Kamchatka, Russia, 20 July 2025. EPA/USGS HANDOUT

 A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck near the coast of the Kamchatka region in the far east of Russia on Sunday, earthquake monitoring agencies said. 

The earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka at a depth of 10 km, shortly after a previous quake, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) data. 

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) showed the earthquake to be of 7.4 magnitude. GFZ also updated the quake to a 7.4 magnitude after first reporting it at 6.7 magnitude. 

The US National Tsunami Warning Center had initially issued a tsunami watch for the state of Hawaii, which was cancelled shortly afterwards. 

Russia's state-run TASS news agency later reported that a tsunami warning for Kamchatka was also lifted, citing local emergency services. 

Earlier, waves of up to 60 cm had been expected to reach several parts of the region, including the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.