N.Korea Ratchets Up Threats Against South

North Korea is ratcheting up threats against South Korea. In yet another message on Saturday, the chief of the North Korean delegation to the inter-Korean military talks again demanded that South Korean private organizations stop sending anti-North leaflets.

Unless the South Korean government "works out measures to stop [the propaganda activities] and officially notifies us of the result, our Army will take a decisive measure," the message said. "The South should not disregard our Army's solemn warning."

Since February, defectors organizations have resumed floating helium balloons into the North carrying DVDs that describe North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's life of luxury.

According to the Unification Ministry on Sunday, the North has asked South Korean government officials to present themselves again when it seizes property owned by the South Korean government and the Korea Tourism Organization in the Mt. Kumgang resort area on Tuesday. A ministry spokesman said officials will not respond to the summons.

The message warned if the propaganda leaflets continue being sent, the North Korean Army will "formally consider if we should continue to comply with the agreement on military safety guarantees for South Korean personnel on east and west coasts."

The North Korean military's approval is essential for South Koreans to visit the joint industrial park in Kaesong. The North Korean military liaison office at the truce village of Panmunjom on March 29 complained that the South permitted the media into the demilitarized zone and threatened "human casualties."

A South Korean security official said, "It seems the North has taken a hardline policy against the South once again." But the North has had nothing to say about the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26.