MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd June, 2020) South Korea is leaving military options on the table regarding North Korea's plan to send propaganda leaflets over the border, media reported Monday.
North Korea's Central News Agency reported earlier in the day that Pyongyang was ready to release some 3,000 balloons with 12,000 anti-Seoul propaganda leaflets in response to similar actions taken from the South, which provoked the latest spike in tensions.
"We are closely monitoring moves by the North Korean military regarding the leafleting round-the-clock. In preparations for diverse possibilities, we maintain a firm readiness posture," Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said according to state news agency Yonhap.
Kim stressed that Seoul was ready to take military action if any aircraft is flown over the Demilitarized Zone, which would violate the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement, the agency reported.
According to an unnamed Yonhap military source, the South Korean Air Force is preparing to field the Global Hawk reconnaissance drone as early as July in response to North Korean threats.
The drone is a "key strategic asset" as it will provide South Korea with key surveillance over military movements at large distances, purportedly circumventing the 2018 agreement.
Having ordered four models at over $200 million each, South Korea has so far received three of the US-made drones, the agency reported.
