Seoul (dpa) – Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians gathered in Pyongyang Sunday to rally against the South Korean government, as vitriol against ongoing joint US-South Korean military maneuvers continues. North Korean television showed participants shouting: “Let us tear (South Korean President) Lee Myung Bak apart until he is dead!” The outpouring follows statements Friday by North Korean military chief Ri Yong Ho calling for a “holy war” against South Korea. Until this year, North Korea had been ratcheting down its objections to the annual joint military exercises, which started a few weeks ago. North Korea has also objected to reports of South Korean troops displaying posters in their barracks insulting to North Korea. Posters at the rally on Kim Il Sung Square – named for the recently deceased leader – threatened “dreadful punishment” and “thousandfold revenge.” According to the state news agency KCNA, North Korea's leader since December, Kim Jong Un, called upon his country's soldiers to be on the highest alert levels along the heavily patrolled inter-Korean border. He then visited Panmunjom, a deserted village in the demilitarized zone where the Korean ceasefire was signed. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/lPjmt Tags: North Korea, Protest, Rally, South Korea Section: East Asia, Latest News
