朝鮮誓言嚴厲報復首爾舉行的抗議平壤活動

North Korea has issued fresh threats against South Korea, vowing retaliation for recent protests in Seoul that it says "hurt the dignity" of the leadership in Pyongyang.

The North's military threatened unspecified "immediate" action against the South if it did not apologize for the small Monday protests, during which effigies of North Korean leaders were burned.

The statement, read on state television Tuesday, included typically inflammatory language, vowing "sledge-hammer" revenge for what it said was the protesters' "monstrous criminal act."

The threat comes as North Koreans continue their two-day celebration of the birthday of late founding leader Kim Il Sung. Many had expected Pyongyang to mark the occasion with a provocative missile test, but the Monday anniversary passed without incident.朝鮮再次對韓國發出威脅，誓言對首爾最近舉行的抗議進行報復，並聲稱抗議活動損害了平壤領導層的尊嚴。

朝鮮軍方威脅說，如果韓國不對星期一舉行的小規模抗議道歉，就將“立即”採取未加說明的行動。在抗議活動中，朝鮮領導人的畫像被焚燒。

朝鮮國家電視臺星期二播報的這一聲明使用了典型的煽動性語言，誓言要對其所說的抗議者的“窮兇極惡的犯罪行爲”進行嚴厲的報復。

在發出這一威脅的同時，朝鮮人繼續進行爲期兩天的已故朝鮮建國領導人金日成誕辰慶祝活動。很多人曾預計平壤將在金日成誕辰之際進行一次具有挑釁性的導彈試射，但星期一沒有出現這種事態。