President Yoon Suk Yeol says North Korea is "absolutely mistaken" if it thinks that it can force South Korea to surrender through threats and provocations.

The president made the remark during an event marking the Ninth Yellow Sea Defense Day on Friday, commemorating 55 servicemen who sacrificed their lives defending the Yellow Sea in three North Korean military provocations in 2002 and 2010.

Yoon said the military will maintain an ironclad readiness posture, while immediately and overwhelmingly responding to any type of provocation by the North to firmly protect freedom in the country and the people's safety.

Referring to the 2002 inter-Korean skirmish near Yeonpyeong Island, the 2010 Cheonan warship attack and the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, Yoon said such acts are cold-blooded provocations that cannot be tolerated by any justification.

Emphasizing that the North continues to threaten the Yellow Sea and national security by calling the South its "primary enemy," Yoon said Pyongyang will have to pay a heavier price should it conduct another provocation, adding fake peace through compromise will push national security into a greater danger.