North Korea has accused South Korea of ​​flying drones into its capital, escalating tensions that have been simmering for months.

The drones allegedly distributed propaganda leaflets about Pyongyang, which the North described as a provocation that could lead to “armed conflict and even war.”

After making those accusations against the South on Friday, Pyongyang said it had ordered border troops to be ready to fire. South Korea, in turn, agreed to respond, warning that a threat to the security of its citizens would mean the “end of the North Korean regime.”

Then on Tuesday the North blew up parts of two roads connecting it to South Korea. carry out a previous threat. The next day it was reported that 1.4 million young North Koreans had applied to join or return to the army.

The outbursts are the latest in a series of clashes between the two Koreas, with tensions reaching their highest level in years since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in January that the South was his regime's greatest enemy.

On October 11, North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused the South of sending drones to Pyongyang at night for two weeks. The leaflets distributed by the drones contained “inflammatory rumors and nonsense,” it said.

Kim's influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, warned Seoul of “terrible consequences” if the alleged drone flights happened again. She later said there was “clear evidence” that “military gangsters” from the South were behind the alleged provocations.

North Korea has released blurry images of what it says are drones flying in the sky, as well as images purporting to show the leaflets. However, there is no way to independently verify their claims.

While South Korea initially denied flying drones to the North, its joint chiefs of staff later said it could neither confirm nor deny Pyongyang's claim.

There was local speculation that the drones were flown by activists who were sending the same materials north in balloons.

Park Sang-hak, chairman of the Free North Korea Movement Coalition, rejected North Korea's claim about the drone strike, saying, “We did not send any drones to North Korea.”

On Monday, Kim met with the army commander, military chiefs, state security and defense ministers and senior officials, the North's official news agency KCNA said.

There, Kim set the “direction of immediate military deployment” and tasked officials with the “effect of war deterrence and the exercise of the right to self-defense.”

South Korea's General Staff public relations officer Lee Sung-joon said the North could stage “smaller provocations,” such as small explosions on roads connecting the Koreas.

Then there were explosions on the iconic Gyeongui and Donghae streets.

Although both roads have long been closed, analysts say their destruction sends a message that Kim does not want to negotiate with the South.

After the explosions, the South Korean military said it fired weapons on its side of the border in a show of force and increased surveillance of the North.

Hours later, the government of Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, declared 11 inter-Korean border areas “danger zones” to prevent people from sending anti-North propaganda leaflets across the border.

“Gyeonggi Province has determined that distributing leaflets towards North Korea is an extremely dangerous act that could trigger a military conflict,” Kim Sung-joong, vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, said in a media briefing.

Spreading such leaflets could endanger the “lives and safety of our residents,” Kim added, as “inter-Korean relations are rapidly deteriorating.”

Analysts say the drone incident suggests North Korea is bolstering internal support by making it appear that threats against the country are escalating.

Using terms like “separate states” to refer to the South and omitting words like “compatriots” and “unification” is part of this strategy, said Professor Kang Dong-wan, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Dong-a University in Busan teaches.

“The North Korean regime relies on the politics of fear and needs an external enemy,” said Prof. Kang. “Whenever tensions rise, North Korea emphasizes external threats to strengthen loyalty to the regime.”

Analysts say the duel between the two Koreas shows they are in a “game of chicken” with both sides unwilling to bat an eyelid at first.

“Neither side is willing to make concessions at this point,” said Professor Kim Dong-yup from the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

With mutual distrust prevailing, Seoul needs to “strategically consider how to deal with the crisis,” Prof. Kim added.

Not at the moment, say analysts.

“I doubt the situation would escalate into a war. North Korea is using military confrontation to strengthen internal cohesion,” said Prof. Kang.

“I doubt North Korea’s ability to launch an all-out war. The regime is well aware of the serious consequences of such a conflict,” said Prof. Kim.

The recent dispute over alleged drone flights will most likely remain a “verbal dispute,” said Prof. Nam Sung-wook, who teaches North Korean studies at Korea University in Seoul.

Because Seoul and Pyongyang know they cannot bear the costs of a full-scale war, the likelihood of actual use of nuclear weapons is low, Prof. Nam said.

The two Koreas are technically still at war, as they did not sign a peace treaty after the Korean War ended in 1953.

Reunification with the South had always been a central, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North's ideology since the state's founding – up until Kim abandoned reunification with the south in January.

Kim brought North Korea with him closer to Russia under Vladimir Putinwhich brings him into conflict with the US and the West, which are South Korea's most important allies.

North Korea's long-standing relations with China are also important. probably his most important ally. Following the drone incident, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday called on all parties to “avoid further escalation of conflict” on the peninsula.

Tensions are rising on the Korean peninsula as the US presidential election campaign enters the home stretch.