UN says N. Korea accusations vs US troops ‘unsubstantiated’

A South Korean army soldier mans a K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle during an exercise in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Friday, April 29, 2016. North Korea on Friday accused U.S. soldiers of trying to provoke its frontline troops with "disgusting" acts and encouraging South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A South Korean army soldier mans a K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle during an exercise in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Friday, April 29, 2016. North Korea on Friday accused U.S. soldiers of trying to provoke its frontline troops with "disgusting" acts and encouraging South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

By Associated Press April 29, 2016 2 min read

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The American-led U.N. command on Saturday dismissed as unsubstantiated accusations from North Korea that U.S. troops at a border village tried to provoke its frontline troops with “disgusting acts.”

A North Korean military statement Friday warned U.S. soldiers to stop what it called “hooliganism” at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or they’ll meet a “dog’s death any time and any place.”

It said U.S. troops pointed their fingers at North Korean soldiers and made strange noises and unspecified “disgusting” facial expressions.

A statement from Christopher Bush, a spokesman for the U.N. command, said they looked into the allegations and determined they were unsubstantiated.

North Korea occasionally accuses South Korean and U.S. troops of trying to provoke its border troops and vice versa. After North Korea’s first nuclear bomb test in 2006, the U.S. accused North Korean troops of spitting across the border’s demarcation line, making throat-slashing hand gestures and flashing their middle fingers.