N. Korea warns of 'powerful counteraction' if S. Korea intrudes 'even a millimeter' into its territory

North Korea issued a stern warning on Tuesday, threatening an "immediate and powerful counteraction" if South Korea intrudes even "a millimeter" into its territory. This warning came after Seoul indicated it would respond to recent land mine blasts along the inter-Korean border, which it attributes to actions by Pyongyang. The North's foreign ministry released the statement on the same day that South Korea's military concluded the mines planted by North Korea were responsible for the Sept.

21 incident that left two South Korean soldiers critically injured. The South also conducted a mine-clearing operation at the blast site on the same day, working in coordination with the U.N. Command, which oversees the border area. The ministry's statement emphasized that North Korea is "not concerned about them trying to remove the mines irrelevant to us," and stressed that they have "no reason to pay heed to such farce of the ROK."

However, it warned that if South Korea's border guard forces even "go a millimeter beyond the border to violate our territory," the DPRK will take immediate action.