SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) — North Korea on Tuesday threatened to mercilessly punish South Korean activists for allegedly hurting the dignity of its young leader Kim Jong-un during a public demonstration, the latest in a series of harsh rhetoric against rival South Korea.

The latest threat came days after a conservative activist in Seoul trampled a photo of Kim and slashed it with a knife during a rally as others burned printed replicas of North Korean flags.

The North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea called the demonstration an intolerable, serious provocation and unpardonable, hideous crime.

“The provokers who committed the heinous crimes daring to hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK can never survive,” the committee said in an English-language statement carried by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency, using the acronym of the North’s official name.

The committee, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also said the North’s military has declared its resolute will to wipe out those who provoke the dignity of the North’s supreme leadership.

The North has bristled at any outside criticism of its leader.

North Korea has made several military threats against South Korea over its alleged slander of its leader in recent years, although it has yet to follow through on its word.