Seoul, Jun 6 (IANS): South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday that South Korea will not sit idle against North Korea's "despicable" provocations and vowed to protect people through robust military readiness and a strong alliance with the US.

Yoon made the remark during a Memorial Day speech at Seoul National Cemetery amid high tensions after South Korea fully suspended a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction pact in response to North Korea's sending of balloons filled with trash across the border last week, Yonhap news agency reported.

"North Korea -- after firing artillery shells into the West Sea and launching missiles -- recently carried out a despicable provocation that would make any normal country ashamed of itself," he said.

"The government will never overlook the threat from North Korea."

To deter the North Korean threats, Yoon vowed to bolster the alliance with the US and enhance cooperation with the international community.

"We will maintain an iron-clad readiness posture and respond to provocations resolutely and overwhelmingly," he said.

"Building upon the more robust South Korea-US alliance and cooperation with the international community, we will firmly safeguard our people's freedom and safety."

Yoon criticised the North Korean regime for refusing to "accept the progress of history" and instead remaining on a "backward path, threatening our lives."

"South Korea has now become the brightest country in the world, while the land north of the Military Demarcation Line remains the darkest in the world," he said.

Referring to North Koreans as "our compatriots" living just "around 50 km away from here," he noted their suffering from starvation with their freedom and human rights brutally deprived.

He stressed that "we will only be able to restore the North Korean people's freedom and human rights" by becoming a stronger country.

"Peace is maintained through strength, not through submission," he said.

Since last week, Pyongyang has sent nearly 1,000 balloons carrying trash to the South in what it called a "tit-for-tat" action against anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns by activists in Seoul.

It also attempted to jam GPS signals near the western sea border.

After the South Korean government on Sunday warned of "unendurable" measures, including resuming loudspeaker broadcasting, the North Korea said it will temporarily halt dropping balloons across the border.

Yoon also vowed to take better care of the nation's heroes, saying the country will take full responsibility for the bereaved families no matter what happens.

Specifically, he announced plans to innovate welfare services for the patriots and veterans by improving medical care and expanding rehabilitation support.

Filled with 200,000 flyers criticising the regime, dollar bills and USB sticks loaded with K-pop and trot music, the balloons were floated from Pocheon, north of Seoul, early Thursday, according to Park Sang-hak, head of the Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK).

A military source confirmed that some of these balloons have flown into North Korea but said no signs of retaliatory action were detected yet from the North Korean side, including any launch of ballistic missiles or release of balloons loaded with trash, Yonhap news agency reported.

The military is also closely monitoring North Korea for signs of provocations, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.

A Unification Ministry official said the Ministry is maintaining close communication with the relevant agencies and "doing its best to manage the situation".

Since last week, Pyongyang has sent nearly 1,000 balloons carrying trash to South Korea in what it called a "tit-for-tat" action against such anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns.

After the South Korean government on Sunday warned of "unendurable" measures, including resuming loudspeaker broadcasting, the North Korea said it will temporarily halt dropping balloons across the border.

North Korea, however, also warned it will send "a hundred times the amount of toilet paper and filth" of what the South Korea sends, raising concerns the reclusive country could start the waste-filled campaign again.

The FFNK has sent balloons carrying similar goods across the border although such acts are banned in South Korea under a law that was legislated during the previous administration to help reduce tensions in the border regions.