Spotlight: DPRK army in state of war, UN chief urges for restraint on Korean Peninsula

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said late Friday that its frontline troops had moved into a "fully armed, wartime state" ahead of an 48-hour deadline, while UN and China urged the parties to refrain from taking any further measures.

The deadline will end at 5 p.m. local time (0830 GMT) Saturday for the South to stop propaganda broadcasts with loudspeakers, the official KCNA news agency reported.

The military has "wound up preparations for military action" and entered a wartime state, "waiting for an order of attack to destroy the war maniacs," the report said.

The move came after top leader of DPRK Kim Jong Un ordered the country's frontline combined forces to enter a state of war from 5 p.m. Friday.

Kim ordered in an emergency meeting the frontline forces to be well armed to cope with any possible operations at any time.

At the meeting, political and military countermeasures aiming to smash South Korea's "military provocations" were discussed while the military's combat plan of the frontline command was approved, according to the KCNA.

The current complicated and tense situation between the two countries was attributed to hostile provocations from the South, Kim Yong Chol, director of the investigation bureau of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, said at a press briefing, rebuffing Seoul's claim that Pyongyang was the first to provoke.

He accused the South Korean authorities of fabricating such a case of DPRK shelling the South and firing back rounds of artillery shells before even confirming the accurate locations of where the shell came from and where it landed.

He said South Korea has made such maneuvers in an effort to both transfer responsibilities for escalating inter-Korean tensions and permitting the distribution of anti-DPRK leaflets and to wage psychological warfare.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was deeply concerned by rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a spokesperson for the Secretary-General said.

Ban has closely followed the reports of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He urged the parties to refrain from taking any further measures that might increase tensions, said Eri Kaneko, associate spokesperson for the UN chief.

"He also calls the parties to engage in dialogue to reduce tensions and to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Kaneko said.

China on Friday asked relevant parties to exercise restraint and prevent escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"We urge relevant sides to maintain calm and restraint, properly deal with the current situation through contact and dialogue, and stop any action that could heighten tensions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

Bordering on the Korean Peninsula, China pays close attention to the peninsular situation and is deeply concerned about recent incidents, Hua said.

She said China resolutely safeguards regional peace and stability and opposes any action that could raise tensions.

"China is willing to work with all parties concerned for peace and stability of the peninsula," she said.

South Korea's military on Thursday fired 36 shells with 155 mm in caliber toward the DPRK, which Seoul said had earlier launched artillery into the South at the western border twice, respectively at 3:53 p.m. (0653 GMT) and 4:12 p.m. (0712 GMT).

The shelling raised the already heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

On Aug. 4, two South Korean soldiers were maimed after the explosion of three wooden-box landmines, which South Korea claimed had been planted by DPRK forces.

In response, South Korea's military resumed propaganda broadcasts with loudspeakers for the first time over the past 11 years in frontline units from Aug. 10, causing threats from the DPRK saying that it would strike the loudspeakers harshly. Endi