S. Korea warns it will 'end' North's regime if it stages 'provocations'

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said during his inauguration speech on Friday that North Korea will "face a regime change" if it stages any "provocations." He warned Pyongyang would "pay a terrible price under the principle of punishing immediately, strongly and until the end," Azernews reports via Yonhap news agency.

"In order to ensure the enemy does not dare to carry out a provocation, [we] will establish an overwhelming defense posture and capabilities to deter the enemy's provocations," Kim said. Relations between North and South Korea remain tense, with South Korea frequently carrying out military exercises with the United States and North Korea sporadically performing missile tests and launching spy satellites.