NK threatens to retaliate against South Korean reserve forces using its leaders' photos as shooting targets

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military threated on Friday an "overall" military retaliation against South Korea, whose reserve forces units have used photos of its leaders as targets during firing drills. "From now on, the units of the three services of the Korea People's Army (KPA) and the Worker-Peasant Red Guards will launch practical and overall retaliatory military actions to wipe out the group of traitors at a stroke," said a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army in a statement carried by North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Some South Korean units of reserved forces have reportedly used pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son as shooting targets during firing drills. The spokesman demanded the Seoul government apologize for the acts, calling it a "blatant challenge" and an "unheard of politically motivated provocation." "The South Korean puppet authorities should make a formal apology to the whole nation for the hideous provocation and provide an official guarantee for thoroughly preventing its recurrence," he said. He noted that the military will escalate the practical and overall retaliatory military actions until the South takes actions to punish those involved in the drills. "The South Korean puppet authorities should take measure for immediately meting out a stern punishment to the prime movers who committed the above-said most hideous crimes against the nation," he said.