North Korea says 1.4 million youth enlist in army over South Korean drone outrage

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- More than 1.4 million young people have volunteered to join or rejoin the North Korean army in response to alleged drone incursions by South Korea, state-run media claimed Wednesday.

"Millions of young people have turned out in the nationwide struggle to wipe out the ROK scum who committed a serious provocation of violating the sovereignty of the DPRK through a drone infiltration into its capital city," a report in the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The ROK and DPRK are the official acronyms for South Korea and North Korea, respectively.

The enlistment surge for the Korean People's Army took place over Monday and Tuesday, KCNA said. North Korea already has periods of mandatory military service for men of up to 10 years.

"The young people's zeal for joining the army is an eruption of the hatred and retaliatory spirit of the younger generation who are determined to punish the scum who committed a hideous crime to ignite a war at any cost," the report said.

The claim comes as cross-border tensions between the two Koreas have escalated sharply over the past few months.

On Tuesday, North Korea blew up sections of two roads that connect with the South. Neither road has been in use for years but the gesture, which the North first announced last week, is symbolic of deteriorating inter-Korean relations.

The explosions came after North Korea accused the South on Friday of flying drones over Pyongyang three times this month. South Korea's military has not confirmed whether it sent any drones over the border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a defense meeting with top security officials to discuss the drone infiltration, state media reported Tuesday.

Previously, North Korea's military announced that orders were given for eight artillery brigades along the border to be on standby to open fire. Kim Yo Jong , the sister of Kim Jong Un, warned Sunday that any further drone flights would "certainly lead to a horrible disaster."

A back-and-forth Cold War-style exchange near the DMZ has been going on since June, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons into the South. The North has claimed it is responding in kind to the longstanding practice of defector groups floating balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives containing South Korean media over the border.

Seoul, meanwhile, began propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at frontline areas in July, blasting K-pop songs, news and information. According to local South Korean authorities, the North has retaliated by broadcasting bizarre noises such as metallic screeching and animal sounds.

On Tuesday, Gyeonggi Province declared three areas near the border as "danger zones" in an effort to lower tensions. In the cities of Yeoncheon, Gimpo and Paju, police will immediately crack down on anyone sending leaflets to the North, the provincial government said in a press release .

"The anxiety and suffering of the residents of the border areas is increasing," the statement said. "An increasing number of people in border areas are complaining that they cannot sleep without taking medications because of the constant garbage balloons and eerie broadcasts."