PHOTO: File by AFP

South Korea convened an emergency security meeting on Sunday after the sister of North Korea’s leader threatened military action against South Korea in the latest escalation of tensions between the two neighbors.

Iran PressAsia: South Korean military "is maintaining resolute military readiness to respond to all situations,” the country's defense ministry said at the meeting.

Related News: North Korea threatens military action against South 

Kim Yo Jong, a trusted aide to her brother, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, said she would leave the right to take the next step of retaliation against South Korea to North Korea’s military in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA on Saturday.

Kim, who has gained new prominence in North Korea's power structure, did not specify what the next action could be, or when exactly it will be taken, but she added: “I feel it is high time to surely break with the South Korean authorities. We will soon take the next action.”

A spokesman for The Blue House, South Korea's presidential office, said Sunday that the country's national security council held an emergency video conference to review the situation on the Korean peninsula and to discuss how to best respond.

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