“Tough response to North Korea begins” ... Letter to UN Security Council today; Defense Ministry to take “proportionate measures”

[Financial News] The government has launched a tough response, including sending a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council, in an effort to secure an apology for the landmine incident involving North Korean troops. The Ministry of National Defense will also take proportionate measures against North Korea. Even after the landmine incident, North Korea has continued to mock and criticize Cheong Wa Dae, behaving as though it were the aggrieved party. North Korea also threatened to complete preparations within days to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea in border areas between the two Koreas and to take new military action.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 22nd that it would send a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council regarding the landmine explosion in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Ministry spokesperson Park Du-sun said, “I understand the letter will explain that the explosion was caused by a landmine planted by North Korean troops and constitutes a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement, demand an apology and responsible action from North Korea, and call for dialogue to prevent rising tensions and restore trust.”
He went on to stress, “We will also draw attention to North Korea’s recent attempts to portray our military’s legitimate operational activities around the Military Demarcation Line as provocations and shift responsibility for rising tensions in the region onto our side.” 
Our military authorities also reaffirmed that day that they would take “proportionate measures” if North Korea activates loudspeakers aimed at South Korea. If the military responds proportionately, it could reinstall around 20 fixed loudspeaker units aimed at North Korea that were dismantled early in the Lee Jae Myung administration, or reactivate around 10 mobile loudspeakers aimed at North Korea.
At a regular briefing, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jeong Bit-na was asked whether the military was also considering installing loudspeakers aimed at North Korea in a symmetrical response if the North resumed its broadcasts toward the South. She replied, “If North Korea does something, shouldn’t we also, of course, take proportionate measures?”
A Ministry of Unification official told reporters that day that the plan to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea as a proportionate measure “will be decided through consultations among the relevant ministries.” The ministry nevertheless urged North Korea to “immediately stop actions that violate the Armistice Agreement around the Military Demarcation Line and increase the risk of tensions and clashes.” The ministry said, “Just over a year ago, we turned loudspeakers toward each other, and residents of both South and North Korea experienced suffering that was difficult to endure,” adding, “We must not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
It also called on North Korea to align the two Koreas’ positions on the Military Demarcation Line and establish a communication system for its peaceful management as soon as possible to achieve a fundamental solution.
Kim Yo Jong, a department director of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, threatened that new means of response were being kept on standby in all border areas and that preparations for loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea would also be completed within days. She also openly ridiculed Cheong Wa Dae’s special adviser for defense policy, saying the adviser was making far-fetched claims.
North Korea has pursued and considered deploying tactical strike capabilities in border areas between the two Koreas, including weapons systems capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads. North Korea is reportedly preparing to deploy near the border a 600-mm super-large multiple rocket launcher, which it claims can carry the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead, as well as new 240-mm multiple rocket launchers and tactical missiles. These weapons have ranges of around 400 km and, if deployed in border areas, would be capable of striking anywhere in South Korea. 

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