Seoul’s spy service says North Korea is preparing attacks

South Korean defense officials say the upcoming annual military drill with the United States will be the largest ever, a sign of growing tensions with North Korea over its recent tests of nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs.

Kim Jong-Un has said he is planning to launch more satellites, declaring space exploration to be a “strategic goal” for North Korea. In the past, the North has carried out terrorist attacks, notably in 1987 when a bomb destroyed a South Korean airliner, killing 115 passengers and crew.

Last week, Park ordered South Korean activities at the jointly-run Kaesong industrial facility in North Korea shut down.

On Monday, Oh Joon, the South Korean ambassador to the U.N. Security Council, called for extraordinary measures against North Korea to make it evident that the worldwide community would not tolerate Pyongyang’s “nuclear blackmail”.

Attacks on subways, shopping malls and other public places could also happen, he said. The North says the drills are preparation to stage a northward invasion.

Lee said that the North always launched cyber attacks after conducting nuclear tests.

The United States on Wednesday flew four stealth F-22 fighter jets over South Korea and reaffirmed it maintains an “ironclad commitment” to the defense of its Asian ally.

His comments come as the US imposed fresh sanctions on the pariah state for defying the world and restarting its nuclear programme.

The U.S. and South Korea on Wednesday intensified its pressure on North Korea by deploying stealth bombers and prohibiting civilian exchanges in response to the recent nuclear test from the regime of Kim Jong-un.

The US will send 15,000 soldiers, up from 3,700 previous year, Mr Han said, and South Korea will also increase its number of participants.

“If Washington and Seoul break the Thirty-Eighth Parallel and take comprehensive military action, they should take the possible risks of China’s military intervention into account”.

The U.S. military would not say how long the F-22s will be deployed in South Korea.

South Korea has sent more than $3 billion in government and civilian aid to the North since the mid-1990s, according to President Park’s office.

The foreign ministry had told lawmakers that China also shared the need to slap stronger and more effective sanctions on North Korea as Seoul has appealed for co-operation, Mr Lee said.