South Korea said it would retaliate against North Korea if it continues its provocations. The statement followed Pyongyang threatening to deploy tactical strike weapons to its southern border. 

“Now the situation of the southern border is very unstable,” Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister to Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un,  said on Monday. “A grave situation is prevailing along the southern border due to the reckless behavior of the ROK military gangsters.”

She also accused South Korean soldiers of repeatedly firing warning shots and issuing loudspeaker warnings at North Korean troops working near the border.

Kim continued, “To cope with the prevailing situation, our military leadership is examining the issues of deploying more tactical strike means along the southern border as a preemptive and suppressive measure to deal with contingency, and of resuming the loudspeaker broadcasting against the ROK, and considering other necessary and appropriate measures.”

South Korea responded to Kim’s statement on Tuesday. “The Ministry of National Defense expresses grave concern over Director Kim Yo-jong’s criticism of our military’s legitimate operations conducted under the Armistice Agreement, as well as her escalation of tensions through military threats,” the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said. 

It added, “We will retaliate decisively should North Korea engage in further provocations using our legitimate measures as a pretext.”

The threats to increase military deployments come amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Over the past several months, the US has participated in two major rounds of military exercises in the region, including the bilateral Ulchi Freedom Shield drills with South Korea in August and the trilateral Freedom Edge exercises with South Korea and Japan in September.

Adding to tensions is a landmine explosion south of the border that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul says that North Korea planted the mine on the south side of the DMZ, but Pyongyang denies the allegation. 

North Korea has also accused the US of upsetting regional stability through its support for South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine ambitions. Pyongyang has separately criticized discussions in Japan about acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

Amid rising tensions, President Donald Trump is suggesting a meeting with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Pyongyang has maintained that Kim will not meet with an American leader until Washington drops its demand that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons.