"If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations," South Korean President Park Geun-hye told the defense minister and senior officials at a meeting on Monday.
The South has changed its rules of engagement to allow local units to respond immediately to attacks, rather than waiting for permission from Seoul.
North Korea said Saturday it was entering a state of war with the South as US nuclear-capable stealth planes arrived for a joint military exercise which Pyongyang branded “hostile.”
Saturday, US F-22s normally stationed in Japan flew to Osan Air Base in South Korea Saturday as the latest demonstration of advanced capabilities meant to deter provocation from Pyongyang. North Korea reacted with harsh war threats to the flight of US B-2 stealth bombers to the South a week ago..