ID :
43645
Sun, 02/01/2009 - 22:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/43645
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea warns Seoul of military conflict amid tension
(ATTN: RECASTS with KCNA English report, South Korean reaction)
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) --North Korea warned Sunday that war could break out on
the Korean Peninsula if South Korea continues to downplay a series of military
and other actions it has recently taken against Seoul.
In an unusual move on Jan. 17, North Korea's military declared an "all-out
confrontational posture" against South Korea, warning that armed clashes can
recur along a disputed western border, the scene of two naval skirmishes in 1999
and 2002 which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.
North Korea further ratched up tension by declaring on Friday that it was
abrogating all peace accords with South Korea, including an non-aggression pact
it signed with Seoul in 1991.
South Korea responded calmly, although it put its military on higher alert.
"Confrontation means escalated tension and it may lead to an uncontrollable and
unavoidable military conflict and a war," the North's main newspaper, Rodong
Sinmun, said in a commentary, carried by the country's Korean Central News
Agency.
Despite the North's repeated warnings, there were no unusual movements of troops
or weapons on the northern side of the border, according to South Korean
officials.
With no peace treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the two Koreas
are technically at war. About two-thirds of the North's 1.1-million-member
military are deployed closer to the border, according to South Korean
intelligence.
"The North's military is in the midst of its regular winter exercise, but there
seems to be nothing noticeably particular," a South Korean Defense Ministry
official said, requesting anonymity.
Inter-Korean tension has risen considerably since conservative President Lee
Myung-bak took office in Seoul almost a year ago. His recent appointment of a
hawkish scholar to head the Unification Ministry has further enraged North Korea.
Lee administration's reckless confrontation with the North "in defiance of the
stern warnings" will result in its "final destruction," the North Korean
newspaper said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) --North Korea warned Sunday that war could break out on
the Korean Peninsula if South Korea continues to downplay a series of military
and other actions it has recently taken against Seoul.
In an unusual move on Jan. 17, North Korea's military declared an "all-out
confrontational posture" against South Korea, warning that armed clashes can
recur along a disputed western border, the scene of two naval skirmishes in 1999
and 2002 which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.
North Korea further ratched up tension by declaring on Friday that it was
abrogating all peace accords with South Korea, including an non-aggression pact
it signed with Seoul in 1991.
South Korea responded calmly, although it put its military on higher alert.
"Confrontation means escalated tension and it may lead to an uncontrollable and
unavoidable military conflict and a war," the North's main newspaper, Rodong
Sinmun, said in a commentary, carried by the country's Korean Central News
Agency.
Despite the North's repeated warnings, there were no unusual movements of troops
or weapons on the northern side of the border, according to South Korean
officials.
With no peace treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the two Koreas
are technically at war. About two-thirds of the North's 1.1-million-member
military are deployed closer to the border, according to South Korean
intelligence.
"The North's military is in the midst of its regular winter exercise, but there
seems to be nothing noticeably particular," a South Korean Defense Ministry
official said, requesting anonymity.
Inter-Korean tension has risen considerably since conservative President Lee
Myung-bak took office in Seoul almost a year ago. His recent appointment of a
hawkish scholar to head the Unification Ministry has further enraged North Korea.
Lee administration's reckless confrontation with the North "in defiance of the
stern warnings" will result in its "final destruction," the North Korean
newspaper said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
