Park orders military to respond strongly to DPRK provocations

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's President Park Geun-hye on Monday instructed the military to strongly respond to possible provocations by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) without any political considerations.

"If any provocation is made against our people and the country, (the military) should strongly respond (to the provocation) in an early stage without any other political considerations," Yonhap News Agency quoted Park as saying at the annual policy plan briefing by the defense ministry.

Park said she "sees the recent DPRK's threat very seriously," mentioning the nullification of non-aggression pact, the cut-off of the military communications line and the repeated war threats.

On Saturday, Pyongyang warned that if the ROK continues to insult its northern neighbor's dignity, it will shut down their joint industrial park located in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong. South Korea's unification ministry in charge of dialogue and communication with the DPRK said Monday that the industrial zone is normally operating.

The announcement came just hours after the DPRK said it had entered "a state of war" against the ROK, which once again escalated tensions on the Koran Peninsula after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test on Feb 12.

President Park stressed that she will trust the judgment of the military that is directly facing the possibly abrupt raid by the DPRK, instructing the military to secure safety of workers at the joint industrial park.