North Korea has doubled its artillery
power and the majority of its submarines seem to be away from their bases, a
South Korean military official said, as cited by the Yonhap news agency. The
announcement comes amid ongoing talks between the two sides over the border
crisis. According to the official, more than 50 North Korean submarines are out
for operations. "Seventy percent of North Korea's submarines left their
bases, and their locations are not confirmed," a South Korean military
official said, adding that Pyongyang has about 70 submarines in total.
"It's a very serious
situation," the official added.
In the meantime, the Yonhap news agency
reported that six South Korean fighter jets have returned home ahead of
schedule from the Red Flag Alaska military drills. The F-16s were initially
planned to fly back later this week. Tensions have recently escalated on the
Korean peninsula after both sides exchanged fire on Thursday. Also on Thursday
there were reports that South Korea had ordered the evacuation of some 15,000
civilians from the border area to the west of the Korean Peninsula, reportedly
shelled by the North’s military.
On
Saturday, Pyongyang delivered an ultimatum to Seoul demanding it stop
broadcasting propaganda via loudspeakers across the borders. It set a deadline
of 17:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Saturday for this to happen. The North
threatened ‘imminent’ military action if Seoul didn’t meet the demands.
However, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo told
parliament that the broadcasts would continue, adding the North was likely to
fire at areas in the Demilitarized Zone where transmitters are stationed.
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