North's No. 2 man threatens 'decisive action' against Seoul

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam Sunday warned Pyongyang will take "decisive actions" against Seoul if the South continues to challenge the communist nation, becoming the highest North Korean official yet to directly make such a threat since inter-Korean relations turned sour early last year.

The fresh threat comes after the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification
of Korea said late last month that the North will no longer honor any agreement
reached between the divided Koreas in the past, also pledging to take all means
necessary redraw a maritime border in the western sea to the south of the
existing border, Northern Limit Line.
Kim, the president of the Presidium of the North's Supreme People's Assembly,
claimed South Korea's conservative authorities have defamed what he called
"supreme dignity" of North Korean people and pushed the inter-Korean relations to
the brink of war.
"If they challenge the DPRK to the last despite its repeated warnings, it would
punish the group of traitors with decisive actions," Kim was quoted as saying by
the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK stands for the North's
official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The remarks were part of his report given at a meeting held Sunday to celebrate
the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who turns 67 on Monday.
Inter-Korean relations dove to their lowest ebb in recent years since the Lee
Myung-bak government was inaugurated about a year ago, but this is the first time
for such a ranking North Korean official to personally blast the Seoul
government.
Pyongyang has regularly criticized Seoul since the Lee administration was
inaugurated, but mostly through reports or commentaries by its media.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)