Military tensions between North and South Korea are rising due to the controversy over the “infiltration of drones into Pyongyang." Critics argue that North and South Korean authorities are using the situation for domestic politics, adhering to hardline rhetoric rather than managing the situation through dialogue. The North is using the situation as an opportunity for strengthening the solidarity of its regime by increasing resentment toward the South, while the South is using the escalating tensions to deflect attention away from various political controversies unfavorable to the government and the ruling party.
On October 14, North Korea‘s Rodong Sinmun published a front-page story on a speech delivered the night before by Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, titled "Reckless courage will speed up the miserable end of South Korea." Kim said, “The South’s Ministry of National Defense has finally revealed its true colors as a provocateur and main culprit,” adding, "The gangsters of the Korean military should refrain from rash acts.”
In a statement released later that evening, Kim also said, "If the sovereignty of a nuclear-armed state is violated by the mongrels trained by the Americans, the owner of the dogs should be held responsible.”
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense issued a statement the day before, warning North Korea that “if it harms the safety of our people, that day will be the end of the regime.” North Korea responded with a stronger tone.
Following the previous day, the Rodong Sinmun reported that "the whole country boils with strong wills to retaliate” on the news that South Korean drones invaded Pyongyang on the day. North Korea has not informed its people of the South's distribution of propaganda leaflets to the North and the statements of North Korean authorities.
Analysts believe that the North is trying to capitalize on the crisis to bolster internal cohesion and prevent dissent in the wake of the massive floods in July and chronic economic hardship. It is also seen as a way to justify the physical separation of the two Koreas and future military action under the “two states hostile to each other” theory that Kim Jong-un declared last December.
Rather than managing the situation, the South Korean government’s ambiguous stance has increased anxiety and tension. The government and military have maintained a stance of “we cannot confirm the facts” ever since North Korea claimed the infiltration of drones on October 11. North Korea is raising the threat level, using it as evidence that the South Korean military was involved in the infiltration.
Some say the South Korean government‘s message is overly provocative. National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said in a broadcast the previous day, “If North Korea does not decide to commit suicide, it will not be able to (go to war).” Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Far East Studies Institute, said, "We need to be fully prepared for the possibility of using nuclear weapons. The government needs to be more cautious about messages to North Korea and the public."
It is also unlikely that Seoul will be the first to suggest contacting Pyongyang to resolve the situation. “There is nothing to confirm at this stage,” said Koo Byung-sam, a spokesman for the Ministry of Unification, when asked about the government’s intention to contact North Korean authorities. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at North Korean Graduate University, said, "Both the South and the North seem to recognize that the creation of tensions helps maintain their regimes," adding, "The president's responsibility is to manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula in a stable manner, and the key is dialogue."