After exchange of artillery shells , Pyongyang gives Seoul ultimatum to dismantle a loudspeakers blasting propaganda and threatens: "Within 48 hours, or there will be further military actions”. A letter from United Front Department opens a channel of dialogue. Seoul ready to respond to both. Catholic source tells AsiaNews: "So much saber rattling by the media and the military, but the population is quiet. We pray for peace. "

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has ordered his troops onto a war footing as of 17.00 (local time) today, 21 August 2015. In addition, he has warned Seoul to dismantle "within 48 hours" loudspeakers on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone, which broadcast programs against the Pyongyang government. Tensions are rising between the two Koreas, after the exchange of artillery fire that lasted several hours on 20 August.

The North Korean army opened fire at 4pm  yesterday local time (9 in Italy) on the speaker. An official of the Seoul Defense Ministry, however, has made clear that the shots " the North’s anti-aircraft gun ammunition appeared to have hit an uninhabited hill located several kilometers away from a loudspeaker set". The bullets did not cause damage property or persons.

In any case, Seoul responded with dozens of artillery shells from 155 mm. The gun battle continued for about three hours, and stopped when night fell. Meanwhile, the North sent two letters to the South. The first, written by the Staff General of the North Korea People’s Army addressed to the Ministry of Defense in Seoul, is an ultimatum threatening a state of war if the loudspeaker is not be dismantled. In response a spokesman from the Blue House - the official residence of the South Korean leader - responded by asking "what time zone should be followed, Seoul or Pyongyang?". The reference is to the movement of the hands decided by the dictator of the North, which has imposed a hiatus of half an hour between the two capitals.

The second is signed by Kim Yang-gon, director of the United Front Department in charge of cross-border affairs, to National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, Pyongyang said the broadcasts constitute a “declaration of war” but it is willing to resolve the current situation and “open a way out for the improvement of the relationship.”

The government of Park Geun-hye said they had rebooted the transmitter - after 11 years of silence - in response to anti-personnel mines that the North placed in the Demilitarized Zone. These bombs exploded last August 4, 2015 and seriously injured two South Korean soldiers stationed on the border. Pyongyang denies the accusations.

The transmissions informs North Koreans what happens in their side of the border: executions of citizens and officials of the regime, military provocations, the threats of their leader Kim Jong-il to the international community. Several dozen North Korean refugees to the South, over the years, confirmed that they had heard "forbidden" news thanks to these transmissions, which can be heard up to 10 kilometers away from the border.

Despite the wide coverage given by the local and international media to this incident, a Catholic source told AsiaNews said: "The blows of both parties have failed, and have opened a channel of dialogue. I do not think that the North wants to go further, we pray this will be avoided. The media and military make a fuss for their own interests, but the population is quiet. The real war over here must be waged with the Gospel, to change the hearts of men and women".

• KOREA
• NORTH
• SOUTH
• STATE
• OF
• WAR
• TENSIONS