ed Brace for the worst

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday ordered the military to beef up security in response to North Korea’s recent repeated threats.

``Park instructed the military to be fully ready to cope with the North’s reckless provocations,’’ said a presidential spokesman, adding that she also asked for all citizens to pay heed to possible emergency situations.

Park’s comments came after Pyongyang threatened to turn the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae into a “sea of flames” on Wednesday. The North appears to have made this latest threat in apparent anger over the largest-ever joint military exercises now being conducted by Seoul and Washington.

North Korea has been ramping up tensions since conducting nuclear and ballistic missile tests earlier this year. Now the inter-Korean standoff has reached a point where the isolated regime in Pyongyang is making its most serious threats.

True, the North’s blackmail tactics are nothing new. Many watchers have predicted that the rogue state will strive to maintain tension on the Korean Peninsula ahead of a major congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in early May.

The North’s intimidating rhetoric also might be aimed at preventing possible unrest. Or it might be the result of overblown acts by the loyalists of the North’s young leader Kim Jong-un.

Some analysts regard it as part of North Korea’s psychological warfare aimed at deepening internal conflict in the South ahead of April’s general election.

What is clear is that such threats must not be taken lightly like a warning from the “boy who cried wolf.” That the presidential office called for all-out vigilance even by issuing a strongly-worded statement might be evidence that Pyongyang’s latest threats of provocation are grave.

If the past is any guide, one can easily understand that North Korea has committed both military and non-military provocations, capitalizing on weaknesses in our security.

Cheong Wa Dae rightly expressed a strong will to launch relentless retaliation against any future provocations. But what matters most is whether we are determined and capable enough to defeat provocations in case of emergencies. It’s imperative that our military and security authorities get fully ready for any contingencies with firm resolve.

What is also worrisome is that the North might launch terrorist attacks in South Korea while aggravating military tension on the peninsula. In fact, it’s realistic to expect Kim Jong-un to create anxiety ahead of the parliamentary election through attacks rather than by triggering military clashes that could lead to his self-destruction.

This is why we should be more alert about the North’s possible terrorism.