military-N Korea

▲ Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top military officer ordered troops on Tuesday to sternly respond to any enemy provocations, a day after North Korea threatened to deploy more weapons along the inter-Korean border and resume propaganda broadcasts.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung gave the directive during his visit to a front-line unit, slamming Pyongyang for shifting the blame on Seoul for heightened inter-Korean tensions following the Sept. 21 land mine explosion that injured three South Korean troops.

"The chairman stated it is unacceptable that North Korea yesterday characterized our legitimate operational measures as a provocation, laying the blame for heightened military tensions on our armed forces," the JCS said in a release.

"He ordered troops to respond decisively if the enemy launches further provocations by using our legitimate measures as a pretext," the JCS said.

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