North Korea accuses South Korea of releasing snakes in 'cunning scheme to challenge unity'

North Korean border patrol guards have reportedly been ordered to capture snakes allegedly released by South Korea's spy agency.

Pyongyang has purportedly told the military that Seoul's spy agency is behind the "unreasonably high number" of snakes in Ryanggang Province.

“From early this month, border patrol units received orders to capture snakes before they crawl over the banks of Amnok [Yalu] River,” a source from Ryanggang Province told Daily NK.

“The key message from the Party was that the South’s National Intelligence Service had released snakes as part of a ‘cunning scheme’ to challenge our unity.”

Soldiers have been ordered to capture the snakes before they reach land and hatch eggs, so have had to wade into the river, which the source said has led to complains.

“Some grumble among themselves about the nature of the state’s claims," they added, "justifiably pointing out that not even a three-year-old would believe that the South would attack us with snakes over [anti-regime] propaganda leaflets or CDs.”

The North's Ministry of People's Security and other public agencies are reportedly urging residents to stay alert to snake danger at all times, with rumours spreading of people dying from snake bites in some areas.

The source told Daily NK the claims could be an attempt to "psychologically arm the people [against the South] during the 200-day battle", a mass mobilisation campaign to jump-start a new economic plan.

State propaganda has previously proclaimed the excessive number of stick insects in North Korean corn fields in the past was a result of US imperialist scheming, the source added.

“The rhetoric will taper off eventually because, contrary to this outlandish narrative, few people have actually spotted any snakes.”

North Korea recently warned of unspecified "physical" measures in response to a US plan to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea by the end of next year.

Last week North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea, according to Seoul defense officials.

The rival Koreas resumed old-fashioned, Cold War-era psychological warfare in the wake of North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January.

Seoul began blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts and K-pop songs from border loudspeakers in retaliation for the North's atomic detonation. Pyongyang quickly matched Seoul's campaign with its own border broadcasts and launches of balloons carrying anti-South leaflets across the border.

Additional reporting by agencies