North Korea says front-line units ready to strike South Korea if more drones appear

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday its front-line army units are ready to launch strikes on South Korea, ramping up pressure on its rival that it said flew drones and dropped leaflets over its capital Pyongyang.

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

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

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

An unidentified ministry spokesperson said the North Korea’s military ordered relevant units to fully prepare for situations like launching immediate strikes on unspecified enemy targets when South Korea infiltrates drones across the border again, possibly triggering fighting on the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement.

The spokesperson said that “grave touch-and-go military tensions are prevailing on the Korean Peninsula” because of the South Korean drone launches. In a separate statement later Sunday, the spokesperson said that the entire South Korean territory “might turn into piles of ashes” following the North's powerful attack.

Also Sunday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described as “suicidal” the South Korean Defense Ministry’s reported warning that North Korea would face the end of its regime if it harms South Korean nationals. She warned Saturday that the discovery of a new South Korean drone will “certainly lead to a horrible disaster.”

North Korea often issues such fiery, blistering rhetoric in times of elevated animosities with South Korea and the United States.

Ties between the two Koreas remain tense since a U.S.-led diplomacy on ending North Korea's nuclear program fell apart in 2019. North Korea has since pushed hard to expand its nuclear arsenal and repeatedly threatened to attack South Korea and the U.S. with its nuclear weapons. But experts say it's unlikely for North Korea to launch a full-blown attack because its military is outpaced by the combined U.S. and South Korean forces.

Observers predicted North Korea would escalate tensions ahead of next month's U.S. presidential election to boost its leverage in future diplomacy with the Americans.

Since May, North Korea has floated thousands of balloons carrying rubbish toward South Korea in retaliation for South Korean activists flying their own balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets. South Korea’s military responded to the North’s balloon campaign by restarting border loudspeakers to blare broadcast propaganda and K-pop songs to North Korea.

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

FILE - North Korean soldiers work at the North's military guard post as a North Korean flag flutters in the wind, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

FILE - A North Korean military guard post, top, and a South Korean post, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, supervises artillery firing drills in North Korea on March 7, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

Parity reached another level in college football on Saturday, with four games involving at least one ranked team going to overtime and four others being decided by three or fewer points.

It matched the most overtime games in one day since Sportradar began keeping track in 2000 — the only previous date showing four overtime games was Sept. 27, 2003. It was just the 10th time Sportradar's records showed at least three overtime games on the same day.

The overtime games were No. 4 Penn State’s 33-30 win over Southern California, No. 8 Tennessee’s 23-17 victory over Florida, No 13 LSU’s 29-26 win against No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 23 Illinois’ 50-49 win over Purdue.

In the other close calls on Saturday, No. 3 Oregon defeated No. 2 Ohio State 32-31, No. 7 Alabama knocked off South Carolina 27-25, No. 18 Kansas State held off Colorado 31-28 and No. 22 Pitt topped California 17-15.

Coaches say the transfer portal and teams switching conferences have leveled the playing field. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, whose Sooners left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference this season, had one of those close calls a few weeks ago when the Sooners rallied for a 27-21 win over Auburn.

“I think you would be naive if you don’t believe that the portal hasn’t had a dramatic effect on some of the parity that you’re seeing," Venables said. “The margins are closer than they’ve ever been in the game of college football, and you’re seeing that week in, week out and, so you got to always be prepared, ready to play.”

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he expects tough games on a regular basis. His Crimson Tide went from beating then-No. 1 Georgia to losing to Vanderbilt to edging South Carolina in three weeks.

“We talked a lot about different things that South Carolina would do that would be tougher matchups for us,” DeBoer said. “Areas and the strengths of their team that were maybe different than (what Vanderbilt offered) a week ago. That’s the way it’s going to be every single week.”

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said the lack of familiarity with opponents is a factor. California is a new team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, so the whole game was like a feeling out process.

“That’s the problem when you play these teams just once — you don’t know how they’re going to play, what they’re going to do,” he said. “That’s why I always liked that Coastal Division, because you get used to playing people and find out. But obviously the next time we get to play them, we’ll know a little bit more about how they’re going to try to defend you, and that’s part of the chess match out there.”

USC moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, and face dogfights on a regular basis. All three of the Trojans' conference losses were by seven points or fewer, making Saturday's loss tougher to handle.

“Came down to the last play, and it hurts to not be able to get this done," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "We’ve had a few games like this, where we’ve had chances to win right there at the end -- and to not make the plays, to not have some of the breaks bounce your way, it’s a gut punch. There’s no doubt about it. We’re very disappointed with not finishing it off.”

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Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) Declan Duley (31) and Devin Hale (53) celebrate with the Purdue cannon after the team's 50-49 overtime win over Purdue in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant celebrates with the Purdue cannon after the team's 50-49 overtime win over Purdue in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)