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N. Korea threatens South over 'monstrous' act North Korea's military angered over 40 Seoul protesters burning portraits of North Korean leaders on Monday, threatens military retaliation over S. Korea
North Korea's military on Tuesday threatened the South with imminent "sledge-hammer" retaliation unless Seoul apologised for anti-Pyongyang protestors burning effigies of its revered leaders. South Korea called the North's ultimatum "regrettable" and "absurd" with the defence ministry vowing a tough response to any military provocation. The warning came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a Northeast Asian tour aimed at defusing soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula and getting China to help rein in a belligerent Pyongyang. As North Korea marked the birth of late founding leader Kim Il-Sung on Monday -- a major national holiday -- around 40 protesters in Seoul burned portraits of Kim, his son Kim Jong-Il and grandson and current leader Kim Jong-Un. Condemning what it described as a "thrice-cursed... monstrous criminal act", the Korean People's Army (KPA) Supreme Command issued an "ultimatum" threatening "just" and immediate action if an apology was not forthcoming. "Our retaliatory action will start without any notice," it said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. "The military demonstration... will be powerful sledge-hammer blows at all hostile forces hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership," it added. Intelligence reports suggest the North has had two medium-range missiles primed to fire from its east coast for at least a week, with most observers predicting a launch sometime around the date of Kim Il-Sung's birthday. During his whirlwind tour of South Korea, China and Japan, Kerry had warned that a test-launch in the current tense climate would be a "huge mistake". South Korea's defence ministry called Tuesday's ultimatum "regrettable" and promised to retaliate "thoroughly and resolutely" to any provocation. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the North's threat was "absurd" and urged Pyongyang to follow a path to dialogue proposed by Seoul and Washington. "We hope the North will make a wise choice," the spokesman said. Amid the angry threats contained in Tuesday's ultimatum, some analysts pointed out that the demand for an apology was couched in language that might open the door to the talks the South has been suggesting for days. "If the puppet authorities truly want dialogue and negotiations, they should apologise," the KPA statement said. "The emphasis there is placed on conditions for resuming dialogue and that is worth noting," said Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul. The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February. Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war. During his trip, Kerry raised the prospect of "authentic" negotiations if Pyongyang took "meaningful steps" to show it would honour past commitments. He also gave US blessing to peace moves by Park, who has signalled to "listen to what North Korea thinks". In a further show of solidarity, it was announced Tuesday that US President Barack Obama would hold his first White House talks with Park on May 7. The White House said the talks -- a highly visible diplomatic statement by Washington and Seoul -- would highlight continuing coordination between the allies in "countering the North Korean threat". The missiles mobilised by the North for a possible launch are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of up to 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles). That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam. South Korean and US forces have been on a heightened state of alert for days, and Japan has deployed Patriot anti-missile systems around Tokyo and promised to shoot down any missile deemed to be a threat. A US military helicopter carrying three crew and 13 other personnel taking part in the ongoing joint military drills crashed on landing Tuesday near the North Korean border, officials said. The precise cause of the incident was not immediately clear and there were no apparent casualties in the crash that a US official described as a "hard landing".
