SEOUL, June 16. /TASS/. North Korean authorities have officially confirmed the destruction of the inter-Korean joint liaison office in the city of Kaesong, the statement was broadcast Tuesday by the national central TV.
"The department for fighting enemies took measures to fully destroy the office of the inter-Korean coordination in the Kaesong Industrial Complex," the statement says.
At the same time, the Korean Central News Agency noted in a report that the measures were taken in response to actions of South Korean activists who were sending hundreds of thousands of leaflets containing anti-government messages to North Korea via balloons.
Earlier, Pyongyang starkly criticized Seoul for South Korean non-governmental organizations disseminating propaganda in the country, vowing to retaliate in kind, going as far as threatening deployment of troops to areas adjacent to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the North-South border. Kim Yo-jong, first Vice Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, openly said that the liaison office will soon be destroyed.
Moreover, following the explosion the South Korean armed forces ramped up North Korea monitoring, while the troops were put on high alert, Yonhap News Agency said Tuesaday.