Kim Yo-jong, director of the general affairs department of North Korea's Workers' Party, threatened on the 22nd that "our new response means will enter a state of readiness for duty along the entire border." She also said loudspeakers for psychological warfare against South Korea would be placed on standby within days. On the 20th, Kim inspected fortification work along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) with the North Korean military's top command, and on the 22nd she went so far as to raise the possibility of a military clash. North Korea's behavior appears aimed at shifting onto Seoul the blame for the explosion of mines the North laid south of the MDL. Casting even the South Korean military's warning broadcasts and warning shots, intended to stop North Korean troops from crossing the MDL, as provocations is nothing but turning the tables. Worse still, it has come to the point where the North is issuing threats against a South Korean government that unilaterally dismantled its own loudspeakers aimed at the North last year.
The South Korean military must first move quickly to determine what the "new response means" cited by North Korea actually are. It remains unclear whether they involve a buildup of artillery units or some other form of military measure. Seoul should make the fullest possible use of South Korean and U.S. intelligence assets to verify actual deployments and operational movements, and should also review measures to protect troops and residents in border areas. There is no reason to be dragged along by North Korea's threats, but neither can there be any laxity in preparing responses that can be carried out immediately should the threats turn into actual provocations.
The Ministry of National Defense said on the 22nd that "if North Korea does something, we naturally must have proportional measures." This is understood to mean that if the North restarts its loudspeakers directed at the South, Seoul will respond with its own loudspeakers aimed at the North. Yet the military also signaled a resolute response last month, when South Korean soldiers were wounded by the explosion of mines laid by North Korean troops. Mine clearance and strengthened operations were said to have followed, but a month later North Korea has offered no apology and is instead raising the level of its threats. The North must not be allowed to miscalculate that it can provoke without paying any price.
Managing tensions between the two Koreas is necessary. But if the government becomes so preoccupied with easing tensions that it blurs responsibility for provocations or delays its response, it will only invite further provocations and ridicule. Proportional response is a principle the government itself has stated and a promise it must keep. There must be no hesitation in carrying it out. If a military provocation should occur, the response should be made squarely and in line with that principle. Only a strong, principled and substantive response can prevent North Korean miscalculation and protect peace.