N. Korea threatens to attak S. Korean presidential office

North Korea threatened to turn Seoul`s presidential office into a "sea of fire," stepping up its rhetoric Friday, a day before the third anniversary of its shelling of South Korea`s frontline island of Yeonpyeong. The tight tensions between the two Koreas lasted throughout the day, as the South Korean military confronted the threats with a military exercise simulating the North`s surprise provocation.

In a statement of the North`s southwestern front command of the Korean People`s Army (KPA), quoted by Pyongyang`s state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea said, "If the South dares to provoke Pyongyang again, our armed forces will not miss an opportunity to show the unhesitant resolve."

"Three years ago the baptism of retaliatory fire was limited to Yeonpyeong, but next time the presidential Blue House and all headquarters of the puppet regime will be targeted," the statement said. "If the South recklessly provokes us again, the sea of fire at Yeonpyeong will turn into a sea of fire at the Blue House," it said.

On Friday, the South Korean military conducted a joint naval, air and ground drill near Yeonpyeong Island. Simulating the North Korean coastal artillery units` surprise shelling of the island, the South Korean Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps troops concentrated their counterattacks on the source of the provocation and supporting and commanding forces.

The South`s Northwestern Islands Defense Command disclosed to the media the successful test launch of the new Spike precision-guided missile. "The Spike missile accurately hit a 3.2-meter-by-2.5 meter target on the sea," a military official said. The South Korean military deployed the missiles to frontline units, as they are capable of striking North Korean coastal artillery concealed in tunnels.