By Yi Whan-woo
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened to "wipe out" South Koreans during his latest supervision of a heavy artillery drill, a possible act of protest over the fresh rounds of international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
"Our first strikes against South Koreans should discourage them from fighting back," Kim was quoted as saying by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KNCA), Friday, after overseeing a drill jointly staged by multiple artillery units, Thursday. "If there are still those who frantically attempt to counter us, we should wipe them all out."
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea will "face powerful and stern punishment" if it makes provocations, claiming the drill "adds to heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
The KCNA's report coincided with the South Korean government's announcement of its own nuclear sanctions against North Korea, Friday.
The measure was taken as a follow-up to the U.N. Security Council'sapproval of Resolution 2321, Wednesday, to tighten loopholes in the USNC's toughest-to-date sanctions — 2270.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened to "wipe out" South Koreans during his latest supervision of a heavy artillery drill, a possible act of protest over the fresh rounds of international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
"Our first strikes against South Koreans should discourage them from fighting back," Kim was quoted as saying by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KNCA), Friday, after overseeing a drill jointly staged by multiple artillery units, Thursday. "If there are still those who frantically attempt to counter us, we should wipe them all out."
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea will "face powerful and stern punishment" if it makes provocations, claiming the drill "adds to heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
The KCNA's report coincided with the South Korean government's announcement of its own nuclear sanctions against North Korea, Friday.
The measure was taken as a follow-up to the U.N. Security Council'sapproval of Resolution 2321, Wednesday, to tighten loopholes in the USNC's toughest-to-date sanctions — 2270.
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