ANKARA 

North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over its capital, Pyongyang, to scatter anti-regime propaganda and warned of retaliation, North Korean state media reported on Saturday.

In a statement, the North Korean Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korea had conducted three drone infiltrations over Pyongyang in October, with unmanned aerial vehicles reportedly dropping leaflets critical of the North. According to Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper, incidents occurred on Oct. 3 and 9, followed by a midnight drone infiltration on Oct. 10 that scattered a large number of leaflets over central Pyongyang.

North Korea described these actions as a “provocation” and warned that “Seoul will pay the price” for what it labeled a grave violation of its airspace and sovereignty. “The recent intrusion into the airspace is a grave crime encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and a clear target of the exercise of the right to self-defense,” the statement read, adding that the North Korean military has been directed to evaluate potential retaliatory measures.

Pyongyang also warned that any further provocations would be met with immediate action without prior notice.

The accusation follows a period of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. On Wednesday, North Korea announced it would cut off road and rail connections with South Korea in response to military exercises in the South and increased deployments of US nuclear assets to the region. South Korea condemned the move, stating that Pyongyang had provided no advance notice.

Recent months have seen escalating tensions in the region, fueled by joint US-South Korean military exercises and a series of North Korean missile tests.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid