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N. Korea leader warns Seoul’s govt organizations will be destroyed

March 24, 2016

SEOUL (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on the military to be ready to strike government organizations in Seoul, the North’s state media said Friday, amid heightened tension on the divided peninsula.

The North’s leader said that the North’s military should be ready to “ruthlessly” destroy Seoul’s government bodies during his inspection of a long-range artillery exercise, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“All soldiers should be nurtured into warriors full of combat spirit and be on high alert,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

The North’s warning is the latest in a series of bellicose rhetoric in response to tougher U.N. sanctions on the North and ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

The North said Wednesday that it is ready to turn President Park Geun-hye and her office into “a sea of flames and ashes,” with its large-caliber multiple rocket launching system.

It said Thursday that it has successfully conducted a solid-fuel rocket engine test, boosting its ballistic rocket capabilities to hit its enemies.

Last week, the North launched two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, with one believed to have blown up mid-flight.

It also warned that it plans to conduct nuclear warhead and ballistic missile tests “in a short time,” sparking speculation that it may carry out its fifth nuclear test and missile provocations. The North conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, followed by its fourth one in January.