North Korea threatens South with "sea of fire"

Nov 24, 2011, 10:43 GMT

Seoul - North Korea's military threatened Thursday to turn South Korea's presidential palace into a 'sea of fire,' a day after its neighbour conducted military drills near their sea border.

If South Korea 'fires one bullet or shell' into North Korean territory, it would respond with a 'sea of fire' at the palace and a 'deluge of fire sweeping away the stronghold of the group of traitors,' the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the state-run media.

The army is 'in full readiness to go into a decisive battle to counter any military provocation,' it said, accusing South Korea of 'a new and military provocation' with Wednesday's drills in the Yellow Sea.

The exercises were conducted on the first anniversary of a North Korean artillery bombardment of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, which killed four people and ratcheted up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea reacted to the first attack on an inhabited area of its territory since the 1950-53 Korean War with sanctions against the North and a build-up of defences of islands near its sea border with the North.

South Korea dispatched artillery, fighter jets and a destroyer to take part in Wednesday's drills near Yeonpyeong.