SEOUL: North Korea’s army showed unusual activities near the South Korean border, Seoul defense officials said, while leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese leader Xi Jinping exchanged messages promising unity in the midst of the increased US-China tensions.
Seoul officials on Tuesday refused to delve into the nature of the activities. South Korean media had previously reported that Pyongyang deployed 240-millimeter rocket launchers to Changrin, an island about 20 kilometers from South Korea.
“U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials are in contact and are monitoring North Korea’s armed forces,” a Seoul army spokesman told reporters. “We do not rule out any possibility.”
The latest versions of this weapon could affect South Korean military bases and warships in the Yellow Sea and were shown at a parade in Pyongyang last year, but an expert in North Korea warned not to read the movement as provocation. “They are upgrading their weapons, just as we are upgrading our tanks or planes,” said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at North Korea University of Studies in Seoul.
The development was announced hours after China and North Korea said their leaders had exchanged messages highlighting stronger strategic cooperation, in the face of nameless “hostile forces.”