It is now too late for South Korea to resolve a mounting crisis on the peninsula, a high-level editorial in North Korea's ruling party daily said Tuesday, warning that North Koreans stand ready to "exterminate" defectors and retaliate against Seoul.

The ronsol (special article) was carried on the second page of Tuesday's the Rodong Sinmun, alongside a statement by the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) promising to defy a 2018 inter-Korean military accord and advance into previously-demilitarized areas -- as well as start a retaliatory anti-South leafleting campaign.