N. Korea threatens to turn S. Korea into 'debris'

N. Korea threatens to turn S. Korea into 'debris'

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea has threatened to turn South Korea into "debris" and completely break off all relations if South Korea doesn't stop confrontational activities.

The North's military issued such a warning in a statement Tuesday carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

The statement said "the puppet authorities had better remember that the advanced pre-emptive strike of our own style will reduce everything opposed to the nation and reunification to debris, not just setting them on fire."

The North cited the remarks by a South Korean general about a pre-emptive strike against the communist country and the defense minister about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's health condition, and the propaganda leafleting by civic activists.

Meanwhile, South Korea's spy agency says a North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea through the heavily fortified border dividing the two countries.

The National Intelligence Service said Tuesday the soldier approached a South Korean guard post in a central part of the Demilitarized Zone asking for asylum in the South.

The spy agency says the soldier told South Korean officials he decided to defect because of frustrations with North Korean society and concerns about his future in the communist country.

The agency says the soldier remains under investigation and declined to identify his name, rank and the date of his defection.

It would be the second defection in a decade across the border. A North Korean officer defected to the South through the DMZ in April.