North Korea announced Wednesday that more than a million young people had enlisted in its army this week, after Pyongyang accused Seoul of launching drones outside its airspace and threatened the South with military retaliation.
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“Millions of young people have joined the national struggle to eliminate the ROK scum who committed serious provocations by violating the sovereignty of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea through drone infiltration,” the official said, referring to the North Korean regime's news agency. To the two countries by their official names.
According to KCNA, more than 1.4 million young people, including students and youth league leaders, volunteered on Monday and Tuesday to join the Korean People's Army.
North Korea, where very long military service is mandatory for all men, has in the past announced massive waves of national conscription during periods of high tensions with Seoul or Washington.
The North Korean regime complains of numerous drone flights since October, which it claims have dropped propaganda leaflets on the capital filled with “rumors and inflammatory nonsense”, and accuses Seoul of responsibility.
Pyongyang warned that another drone would be considered a “declaration of war,” and indicated on Sunday evening that it had ordered eight artillery brigades “to be fully prepared to be able to fire,” in addition to strengthening Pyongyang’s air surveillance centers.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jong-hyun denied any involvement, before a clarification came from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in which he declared “the inability to confirm whether the North’s allegations and Korean statements are true or not.”
Local speculation points to South Korean armed groups with a history of sending propaganda and dollars to the North, usually by balloon, but also sometimes using small drones that are difficult for defenses to detect through air travel from the north and south.
Authorities in Gyeonggi Province, which borders North Korea, will designate the border cities of Yeoncheon, Gimpo and Paju as special “danger” zones where anyone trying to send leaflets to the North could be subject to criminal investigation, an official told AFP.
