North Korean state media condemned South Korean defense minister Shin Won-sik’s remarks on eliminating enemy leadership as a “psychological prelude” to a physical conflict, a threat one expert described as “typical.”

Monday’s edition of North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun responded to comments Shin made while visiting the ROK Air Force’s 17th Fighter Wing on Jan. 24, where he told jet pilots and operative personnel to bring an end to the regime if North Korea initiates a war against the South. 

Pyongyang also described last month’s South Korean military drills as a precursor to “ending the fate” of the ROK and