SEOUL - North Korea will immediately launch a military strike in response to any provocation, Ms Kim Yo Jong, the sister and key ally of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Jan 7, as it fired artillery shells near its border with the South for the third day in a row.

The remarks come after South Korea’s military said the North fired more than 60 artillery rounds on Jan 6 near their disputed maritime border, following a similar volley of more than 200 there the previous day.

North Korea again fired more than 90 rounds on Jan 7, according to the South.

The North’s army said they did not pose any threat to the South as the firing drill was conducted parallel to the border.

“I make myself clear once again that the safety catch of trigger of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) had already been slipped,” Ms Kim Yo Jong, one of the most powerful members of Mr Kim Jong Un’s regime, said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

“As already declared, the KPA will launch an immediate military strike if the enemy makes even a slight provocation,” Ms Kim said.

Although South Korea held its own fire drills in the sea on Jan 5 in response to the artillery shells, the Yonhap news agency said there was no plan to do so after Jan 6’s events.

The Jan 5 duelling drills sparked warnings for residents of South Korean border islands to seek cover in bomb shelters, although there were no report of shells crossing the maritime border.

In the statement, Ms Kim denied the Jan 5 firing and said the North detonated explosives instead as a deception.

South Korea’s military rejected Ms Kim’s statement as low-level psychological warfare, urging North Korea to cease military activity that raises tension near the border. REUTERS