South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar

The nuclear-armed North has accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital to drop propaganda leaflets filled with "inflammatory rumours and rubbish", and warned Sunday that if another drone was detected, it would consider it "a declaration of war".

Seoul's military previously denied it was behind the flights, with local speculation centred on activist groups in the South, which have long sent propaganda and US currency northwards, typically by balloon.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Monday neither confirmed nor denied that Seoul's military was responsible for sending drones across the border, instead calling the North's claim "shameless".

Seoul's military said Monday that the North appeared to be preparing to carry out explosions at roads connected to the South, days after Pyongyang said it would seal the border. Last week, the North's Korean People's Army (KPA) announced the measure will "completely separate" North Korea's territory from the South.

"If sending information via drones becomes a regular activity, it would be a serious issue for North Korea," said Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Former National Intelligence Service chief Park Jie-won said on a radio show on Monday that the government's refusal to confirm or deny their involvement in the drones was an admission of guilt. "The appropriate response is to say that we cannot confirm anything. In my view, this is essentially an acknowledgement."South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar