ID :
41258
Sat, 01/17/2009 - 21:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/41258
The shortlink copeid
Tension rises with N. Korea`s renewed sea border claim
(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES throughout with English-language report)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea raised military tension along a disputed
inter-Korean sea border on Saturday by vowing to take an "all-out confrontational
posture" against South Korea, just hours after it said it will hold onto its
nuclear arms.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff immediately issued an order to its entire
military to intensify its guard against North Korea.
"Now that traitor Lee Myung Bak and his group opted for confrontation ... our
revolutionary armed forces are compelled to take an all-out confrontational
posture to shatter them," the chief of the General Staff of the North's Korean
People's Army said in a televised statement, referring to the South Korean
president.
An unnamed spokesman in a military outfit read the acerbic message in a program
aired by Pyongyang's official Korean Central Broadcasting Station, which was also
released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
He accused South Korean naval vessels of routinely intruding upon its maritime
territory in the Yellow Sea. Seoul officials have denied that claim.
"There was no such occasion," said Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for Seoul's
Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
It is rare for the North Korean army's General Staff to issue a statement. The
message comes as inter-Korean relations have sunk their lowest level in a decade.
Ties have frayed since President Lee took office in Seoul last year, vowing to
break from the "sunshine policy" towards North Korea pushed by his predecessors.
Just hours before, North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Pyongyang may
not give up its nuclear weapons even if ties with Washington are normalized.
Pyongyang will terminate its atomic program only if there is no possibility the
U.S. will launch a nuclear attack against North Korea, he said.
The message comes three days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect
Barack Obama, who said during his campaign he would be willing to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, known as the Northern Limit Line
(NLL), was unilaterally drawn by U.S.-led U.N. forces at the end of the 1950-53
Korean War.
North Korea disputes the NLL and insists it should be drawn further south. The
dispute led to bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
"Our revolutionary armed forces make it clear that we will hold the border as an
extension of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the West Sea," the spokesman
said.
"There will exist in the West Sea of Korea only the extension of the MDL
designated by the DPRK till the day of national reunification, not the illegal
'Northern Limit Line,'" he added. DPRK is the acronym for the North's official
name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The South Korean military responded swiftly to the statement.
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued an order to intensify its guard against
North Korea to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force as of 6 p.m.," a senior Seoul
military official said.
The official added the JCS has asked the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command
to increase reconnaissance activity using U-2 spy planes.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting and briefed Lee
on the North's statement, according to officials.
Pyongyang was widely expected to refrain from provocative behavior ahead of
Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration to ensure smooth nuclear negotiations with the new
U.S. administration.
"We don't know exactly what North Korea aims for with this statement," a key
security aid to Lee told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
"It seems likely that the North Korean military issued such an aggressive
statement to pledge its loyalty to leader Kim Jong-il, but we cannot say anything
for sure right now," the official said.
South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Sang-hee warned early this month against
possible aggression by North Korea near the NLL as inter-Korean relations
continued to be frosty into the New Year.
North Korea suspended inter-Korean dialogue last year in retaliation against
President Lee's hardline stance.
samkim@yna.co.kr
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea raised military tension along a disputed
inter-Korean sea border on Saturday by vowing to take an "all-out confrontational
posture" against South Korea, just hours after it said it will hold onto its
nuclear arms.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff immediately issued an order to its entire
military to intensify its guard against North Korea.
"Now that traitor Lee Myung Bak and his group opted for confrontation ... our
revolutionary armed forces are compelled to take an all-out confrontational
posture to shatter them," the chief of the General Staff of the North's Korean
People's Army said in a televised statement, referring to the South Korean
president.
An unnamed spokesman in a military outfit read the acerbic message in a program
aired by Pyongyang's official Korean Central Broadcasting Station, which was also
released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
He accused South Korean naval vessels of routinely intruding upon its maritime
territory in the Yellow Sea. Seoul officials have denied that claim.
"There was no such occasion," said Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for Seoul's
Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
It is rare for the North Korean army's General Staff to issue a statement. The
message comes as inter-Korean relations have sunk their lowest level in a decade.
Ties have frayed since President Lee took office in Seoul last year, vowing to
break from the "sunshine policy" towards North Korea pushed by his predecessors.
Just hours before, North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Pyongyang may
not give up its nuclear weapons even if ties with Washington are normalized.
Pyongyang will terminate its atomic program only if there is no possibility the
U.S. will launch a nuclear attack against North Korea, he said.
The message comes three days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect
Barack Obama, who said during his campaign he would be willing to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, known as the Northern Limit Line
(NLL), was unilaterally drawn by U.S.-led U.N. forces at the end of the 1950-53
Korean War.
North Korea disputes the NLL and insists it should be drawn further south. The
dispute led to bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
"Our revolutionary armed forces make it clear that we will hold the border as an
extension of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the West Sea," the spokesman
said.
"There will exist in the West Sea of Korea only the extension of the MDL
designated by the DPRK till the day of national reunification, not the illegal
'Northern Limit Line,'" he added. DPRK is the acronym for the North's official
name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The South Korean military responded swiftly to the statement.
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued an order to intensify its guard against
North Korea to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force as of 6 p.m.," a senior Seoul
military official said.
The official added the JCS has asked the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command
to increase reconnaissance activity using U-2 spy planes.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting and briefed Lee
on the North's statement, according to officials.
Pyongyang was widely expected to refrain from provocative behavior ahead of
Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration to ensure smooth nuclear negotiations with the new
U.S. administration.
"We don't know exactly what North Korea aims for with this statement," a key
security aid to Lee told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
"It seems likely that the North Korean military issued such an aggressive
statement to pledge its loyalty to leader Kim Jong-il, but we cannot say anything
for sure right now," the official said.
South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Sang-hee warned early this month against
possible aggression by North Korea near the NLL as inter-Korean relations
continued to be frosty into the New Year.
North Korea suspended inter-Korean dialogue last year in retaliation against
President Lee's hardline stance.
samkim@yna.co.kr
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
