Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong claims North Korea 'will soon take action' against South Korea

The sister of North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, has threatened that the communist country will "soon take a next action" against South Korea's "betrayal" and "crimes" against Pyongyang, even as the row over anti-propaganda leaflets intensified.

With the growing tensions between the two Koreas over North Korean defectors in the South sending out propaganda leaflets into the North criticising the Kim regime.

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reports, Kim Yo-jong, who remains an integral advisor to her brother, stated that the army has been entrusted to take "necessary action" against Seoul.

"I feel it is high time to surely break with the South Korean authorities. We will soon take a next action," she said in a statement cited by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"By exercising my power authorised by the Supreme Leader, our party and the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in charge of the affairs to decisively carry out the next action," the statement said.

The sharp comments from the North Korean leader's sister came about a week after Pyongyang snapped all communication lines with Seoul and threatened to scrap a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing tensions, citing South Korean activist groups and North Korean defectors sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the communist country.

Kim Yo-jong asserted "the right to taking the next action against the enemy will be entrusted to the General Staff of our army."

North Korea so far has refused to hold talks with its southern neighbour at least since Tuesday, despite Seoul's statement of pushing legislation to ban sending of anti-propaganda leaflets.

"Getting stronger day by day are the unanimous voices of all our people demanding for surely settling accounts with the riff-raff, who dared hurt the absolute prestige of our Supreme Leader representing our country and its great dignity, and flew rubbish to the inviolable territory of our side and with those who connived at such hooliganism, whatever may happen," Kim Yo-jong was quoted as saying.

She also stated that the army will make the final call on its next move which will cool down "our people's resentment and surely carry it out."

(With ANI inputs)