N. Korea threatens to blow up Seoul over defamation of its leader

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea urged South Korea Thursday to offer an apology over the alleged defamation of Pyongyang's milestone festival, a day after its military threatened to blow up Seoul. The latest harsh rhetoric comes amid tensions following the North's failed rocket launch last week. The U.N. Security Council has condemned the launch and called on member states to find ways to tighten sanctions on the communist country.

 The North Korean government accused South Korea of insulting the North's dignity over the celebrations marking the centennial of the April 15 birth of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. President Lee Myung-bak said last week the North's rocket launch is estimated to have cost Pyongyang about US$850 million, and the destitute North could have spent the money to buy 2.5 million tons of corn, an amount that is enough to make up for food shortages in the country for six years.

The North's government accused South Korea of fabricating the costs of the centenary anniversary, claiming Seoul's move is aimed at tarnishing the North's image and undermining its internal unity.

North Korea will stage a "sacred war to wipe out the group of traitors unless South Korea immediately apologize for insulting" the anniversary celebrations, the North Korean government said in an English-language dispatch carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

On Wednesday, the North's military also vowed to mercilessly retaliate against South Korea for hurting the dignity of its supreme leadership. Some South Koreans have recently held anti-Pyongyang events in Seoul.

Source and full article at: Yonhapnews