ID :
102816
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 07:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/102816
The shortlink copeid
U.S. urges Koreas to exercise restraint over no-sail zone: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States Tuesday called on both Koreas to remain calm amid reports that the South Korean military is on high alert over North Korea's announcement of a no-sail zone along the disputed western sea border.
"We've heard that notice," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "I
think we're looking into it just to determine precisely what might be behind it.
But obviously, you know, in any kind of declaration like that, we would encourage
restraint on both sides."
The notice comes amid conflicting gestures from the North, which has threatened a
"sacred war" against South Korea over its alleged contingency plans to cope with
any explosion or implosion in the reclusive communist state. At the same time,
Pyongyang has proposed talks for operation of the joint industrial complex in the
North's border town of Kaesong and inter-Korean tour projects that bring South
Koreans to scenic North Korean sites.
Pyongyang is also defying international pressure to return to the six-party talks
on ending its nuclear ambitions, demanding the U.N. first lift sanctions imposed
after its nuclear and missile tests early last year and sign a peace treaty to
replace an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea has often given notice of a no-sail zone before it launches missiles.
Naval forces of the two Koreas clashed in the maritime border in the Yellow Sea
in November, leaving a North Korean patrol boat crippled within minutes after it
entered South Korean waters and ignored warning shots.
The North Korean vessel retreated in flames, and one North Korean soldier was
killed and several others injured. There were no South Korean casualties.
Similar skirmishes in 1999 and 2002 caused dozens of casualties in the South
Korean navy. North Korea has long tried to defy the Northern Limit Line, the
de-facto sea border drawn by the United Nations Command after the 1950-1953
Korean War.
hdh@yna.co.kr
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States Tuesday called on both Koreas to remain calm amid reports that the South Korean military is on high alert over North Korea's announcement of a no-sail zone along the disputed western sea border.
"We've heard that notice," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "I
think we're looking into it just to determine precisely what might be behind it.
But obviously, you know, in any kind of declaration like that, we would encourage
restraint on both sides."
The notice comes amid conflicting gestures from the North, which has threatened a
"sacred war" against South Korea over its alleged contingency plans to cope with
any explosion or implosion in the reclusive communist state. At the same time,
Pyongyang has proposed talks for operation of the joint industrial complex in the
North's border town of Kaesong and inter-Korean tour projects that bring South
Koreans to scenic North Korean sites.
Pyongyang is also defying international pressure to return to the six-party talks
on ending its nuclear ambitions, demanding the U.N. first lift sanctions imposed
after its nuclear and missile tests early last year and sign a peace treaty to
replace an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea has often given notice of a no-sail zone before it launches missiles.
Naval forces of the two Koreas clashed in the maritime border in the Yellow Sea
in November, leaving a North Korean patrol boat crippled within minutes after it
entered South Korean waters and ignored warning shots.
The North Korean vessel retreated in flames, and one North Korean soldier was
killed and several others injured. There were no South Korean casualties.
Similar skirmishes in 1999 and 2002 caused dozens of casualties in the South
Korean navy. North Korea has long tried to defy the Northern Limit Line, the
de-facto sea border drawn by the United Nations Command after the 1950-1953
Korean War.
hdh@yna.co.kr
