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North Korean Leader's Sister Threatens Military Action Against South Korea

William Gallo

   SEOUL - The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued an
   ominous military threat toward South Korea, vowing unspecified
   retaliation over South Korean activists who have floated anti-Pyongyang
   leaflets into the North.

   In a cryptic statement late Saturday, Kim Yo Jong vowed her country
   would "soon take a next action" against South Korea -- a move she
   suggested would be carried out by the country's military.

   "By exercising my power authorized by the Supreme Leader, our Party and
   the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in
   charge of the affairs with enemy to decisively carry out the next
   action," Kim said in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

   Threat on military pact

   It was the most direct threat yet during North Korea's recent effort to
   unilaterally raise tensions with the South. Last week, Pyongyang said
   it would cut off all official communications channels with Seoul and
   threatened to scrap an inter-Korean military agreement meant to reduce
   tensions.

   Some analysts say North Korea appears to be laying the groundwork for a
   significant provocation, possibly in an attempt to gain economic or
   other concessions from South Korea.

   "If North Korea hopes a new inter-Korean crisis can bring about a rapid
   and significant change in Seoul's approach -- in a way that could lead
   to large-scale economic aid to Pyongyang, for example -- it may feel a
   major escalation of tensions is the only way," tweeted Chad O'Carroll,
   CEO of Korea Risk Group, which produces the influential NK News
   website.

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