N. Korea threatens South's loudspeakers

SEOUL, June 12 (UPI) -- North Korea has threatened to destroy South Korea's loudspeakers along the border because of the South's plan for anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, officials say.

The North did not say when it would act, but said the action could eventually turn Seoul into a "sea of flame."

The South "should bear in mind that the military retaliation of (North Korea) is a merciless strike foreseeing even the turn of Seoul, the stronghold of the group of traitors, into a sea of flame," the North's General Staff warned in a statement, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Though South Korea's military said there has been no unusual activity above the military demarcation line, Yonhap said it was the strongest warning yet against the broadcast plan.

The loudspeakers were installed in 11 places along the demilitarized zone in retaliation for the March 26 sinking of a South Korean warship, which Seoul blames on North Korea, Yonhap said.

North Korea denies it had anything to do with the sinking.