North Korea's military Monday threatened "special actions" soon to turn parts of the South Korean capital to ashes, accusing Seoul's conservative government of defaming its leadership.
The North has for months been criticising the South's President Lee Myung-Bak in extreme terms and threatening "sacred war" over perceived insults.
There have been no incidents but the language has become increasingly vitriolic. Some analysts said they believe a military provocation is likely.
"The special actions of our revolutionary armed forces will start soon to meet the reckless challenge of the group of traitors," said a statement on the official news agency.
The North said its targets are "the Lee Myung-Bak group of traitors, the arch criminals, and the group of rat-like elements including conservative media destroying the mainstay of the fair public opinion".
It said the actions "will reduce all... to ashes in three or four minutes... by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style".
Tens of thousands rallied in Pyongyang last Friday, screaming hatred for Lee and calling for his death over alleged insults.
LOL! Do you think they did it of their own will? If they didn't, the government would be calling for THEIR deaths. I'm sure some may have been party officials and their families who may agree, but I doubt the majority do. In fact, I just read in the Daily NK that even the "privelaged" are having to hull their water up the steps of their apartment complexes as the tap water is not working.
(Snip)
One analyst said the North, unlike in the past, may well follow up its threats now that major anniversary events are over.
"The easiest option will be cyber terror... but we may have to guard against actual terrorist actions," Cheong Seong-Chang of South Korea's Sejong Institute think-tank, told AFP.
"This time, I think there's a high possibility that the North's words, unlike in the past, will actually lead to specific actions."
Baek Seung-Joo, of the South's Korea Institute for Defence Analyses, said there had been "bad signs" across the border but did not elaborate.
"I'm worried about military provocations by North Korea," Baek told AFP.
http://news.yahoo.com/n-korean-army-vows-special-operation-against-south-045354844.html
Personally, I'm not so sure I believe anything is going to happen. The North loves to flap their gums, but they have never done anything big. They know we have nukes, and if they nuke Seoul, it wouldn't be good for them. They want to destroy the South, but they don't want to be destroyed in the process. Of course, Obama is in office, and I don't know if he would use them. That said, they have been escalating their vitriolic rhetoric lately, and they are run by a young madman who may be worse than his father and who is desperate to prove his toughness and capability to lead.
hull = haul
“.......Of course, Obama is in office,......”
That right there is a contributing factor to their bravado, the pontification of the North Korean leadership. They see Obama as the weak leader that he is.
“Obama is in office, and I don’t know if he would use them.”
I think hussein would kiss the arse of mini me in the North if he could destroy a supporter of the West. Hussein won’t lift a finger to help the South.