- The Washington Times - Friday, December 20, 2013

North Korea’s government sent the South a blistering message this week threatening to attack “without warning” if demonstrations against the former dictator, Kim Jong-il, didn’t halt.

South Korean conservative activists have been banding together with refugees from the North and holding rallies and protests against the former leader to mark the anniversary of his death, The Associated Press reported.

The defense minister with South Korea reported receipt of a letter from the North’s National Defense Commission that came through a communication line that linked the two militaries that warned of a “merciless” attack, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The letter went on to decry the “repeated extra-large provocations to North Korea’s highest dignity taking place in the middle of Seoul” and then warned of a “merciless retaliation without warning,” said a spokesman for South Korea’s military, Kim Min-seok, to The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, the South sent a fax in reply.

In it, the South vowed “resolute punishment” if the North took aggressive action, Fox News reported.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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