North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister warned yesterday (Sunday) that the country will launch an immediate military attack in response to "any provocation".

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): These statements by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, come after the South Korean military announced that Pyongyang fired more than 60 artillery shells towards the waters off the west coast on Saturday. The country opened fire and for the second day in a row held live ammunition drills near the heavily guarded border.

Yonhap news agency quoted the South Korean military as reporting that North Korea has fired again at South Korea today.

The North Korean Central News Agency known as KCNA published a statement by Kim Yo Jong and wrote: I reiterate that the Korean People's Army is armed and ready. As we said before, if the enemy makes a small provocation, the Korean People's Army will immediately launch a military attack.

Last week, Kim Jong-un announced in a speech that the country and the ruling party have come to the conclusion that partnership with South Korea and reunification with its officials is "impossible" and that a new stance on North-South relations must be adopted.

He also said last Sunday during the fifth and last day of the "General Meeting Related to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea": We must quickly respond to a possible nuclear crisis and deploy all physical tools, including nuclear forces. Our first priority for 2024 is to strengthen the country's nuclear arsenal, and we want the Navy to upgrade its military capabilities.

In addition, after North Korea successfully launched a military spy satellite last month, the country's Central News Agency previously reported that Pyongyang plans to launch three more spy satellites in 2024.

According to the Associated Press, Kim's statements show that he is determined to strengthen and continue North Korea's weapons tests, and apparently will continue to do so until the 2024 US presidential election. But still, some observers say North Korea needs to conduct more important tests to ensure the missiles work well and are capable of hitting the US mainland.