N Korea to carry out live-fire drills

Seoul says North Korea has announced that it is ready to carry out live-fire drills near its disputed border with South Korea.

According to Press TV, the South Korean defense ministry said in a statement on Monday, “The North notified us that they would stage live-fire drills near the Yellow Sea border today.”
It was not made clear when exactly the drill would take place.
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Wi Yong-Seop accused Pyongyang of trying to escalate existing tensions in the region.
Yong-Seop said, “The aim is to threaten us and rack up tension on the Yellow Sea border and the overall Korean peninsula.”
He added that his country would be monitoring the events closely, warning that Seoul would respond if necessary.
An unnamed South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official also said, “We notified the North that we would strongly respond with fire if it fires across the border.”
The announcement comes a day after Pyongyang said it would carry out a new form of nuclear testing.