SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday that its frontline army units were ready to launch attacks on South Korea, increasing pressure on its rival that it said had flown Drones and dropped leaflets over the capital Pyongyang.

South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned it would severely punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens was threatened.

North Korea accused South Korea on Friday of launching drones three times this month to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang threatened to respond with violence if it happens again.

In a statement carried by state media on Sunday, North Korea's Defense Ministry said the military had issued a preliminary operational order to artillery and other army units near the border with South Korea to “fully prepare to open fire.”

An unnamed ministry spokesman said the North Korean military has ordered relevant units to fully prepare for situations such as launching immediate attacks on unspecified enemy targets if South Korea again infiltrates drones across the border, potentially triggering fighting on the Korean Peninsula , the statement says.

The spokesman said that “there is significant military tension on the Korean peninsula” due to the South Korean drone launches. In a separate statement later on Sunday, the spokesman said all South Korean territory “could be reduced to rubble” after the North's powerful attack.

Also on Sunday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called “suicidal” the South Korean Defense Ministry's alleged warning that North Korea would face the end of its regime if it harmed South Korean nationals. She warned Saturday that the discovery of a new South Korean drone “will certainly lead to a terrible catastrophe.”

North Korea often expresses such heated, pointed rhetoric during times of heightened hostilities with South Korea and the United States.

Relations between the two Koreas have remained tense since U.S.-led diplomacy to end North Korea's nuclear program failed in 2019. Since then, North Korea has been pushing hard to expand its nuclear arsenal and has repeatedly threatened to attack South Korea and the United States with its nuclear weapons. But experts say it is unlikely that North Korea will launch a full-scale attack because its military is superior to the combined forces of the United States and South Korea.

Observers predicted tensions in North Korea would escalate ahead of next month US presidential election to strengthen his influence in future diplomacy with the Americans.

North Korea has released thousands of them since May Balloons In retaliation for South Korean activists flying their own balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets, they transported garbage to South Korea. South Korea's military responded to the North's balloon campaign with a restart Border speakers Showering North Korea with propaganda and K-pop songs.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of Kim Jong Un's authoritarian government and his family's dynastic rule.