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North Korea appears to have begun preparations to strike South Korean loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang messages as the North-set deadline for stopping the broadcasts approaches on Saturday.

“We see the North Korean military’s moves to prepare for the strike,” a military source said. “In some areas, towed artillery with a 76.2 mm diameter were deployed to the demilitarized zone, and there are also moves from artillery corps in the rear areas.”

North Korea shelled South Korea across the border Thursday in retaliation for anti-Pyongyang broadcasts along the heavily fortified border. South Korea fired back multiple rounds of artillery. No casualties have been reported.

Pyongyang has since denied responsibility for the attack and threatened military action against the South if the broadcasts do not stop within 48 hours, expiring at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The North has threatened to launch “a strong military action” if South Korea defies its ultimatum. North Korea also warned late Friday that it is prepared to engage in “all-out war.”

The military chiefs of South Korea and the United States said that they will launch powerful counterattacks against additional provocations by North Korea.

South Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Adm. Choi Yoon-hee and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey also agreed to seek various measures “to deter North Korea from launching additional threats,” an official from the South Korean JCS said, citing a phone conversation held earlier in the day.

The two military chiefs were also on the same page regarding the current security status of the Korean Peninsula, the official said.

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea’s presidential office, plans to hold a National Security Council session around 5 p.m. to discuss countermeasures if provoked.

“We are closely monitoring the situation,” presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said. “We are ready to strongly respond to any North Korean provocations.”

A possible military clash between the two Koreas is looming large on the divided peninsula as South Korea has vowed to continue the psychological warfare, which Pyongyang claims insults its dignity.

North Korea deployed towed artillery with a 76.2 mm diameter inside the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas, a military source said, for its possible strike on South Korean loudspeakers that blare anti-Pyongyang messages.

“There are also moves from artillery corps in the rear area,” the source said.

The North’s recent moves underscored the desperate attempt to protect what it calls the “dignity” of its leader Kim Jong-un — a top priority among North Koreans.

South Korea has resumed the propaganda broadcasts along the border for the first time in 11 years in retaliation against North Korea for a recent landmine attack that left two South Korean soldiers severely injured.

South Korea accused the North of planting the mines inside the military buffer zone, a charge denied by North Korea.

Separately, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has cut short his visit to Costa Rica to deal with the escalating situations. Yun is to arrive in Seoul on early Sunday, a day ahead of schedule, according to the Foreign Ministry.