N. Korean nominal head's rare warning may be prelude to provocation: analysts By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's ceremonial head called President Lee Myung-bak a "traitor" and warned of dropping an "iron hammer" on his government, his first such acrimonious remarks hinting at Pyongyang's planned provocation, analysts said.

The unprecedented threat issued Sunday by Kim Yong-nam, officially president of
the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, is a strong sign that North Korea
is determined to turn its recent verbal attacks into action, they said.
Kim Yong-nam, 81, represents North Korea on all state visits and summits and
receives visiting heads of state. As the face of the nation, he has not usually
engaged in Pyongyang's coercive campaigns.
On the eve of leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, however, he called for "a struggle
to drop a frightening iron hammer on anti-unification war mongers who have pushed
inter-Korean relations to the brink of war and are bringing the disaster of a
nuclear war on the head of the Korean people."
He also accused the Lee government of defaming the "supreme dignity of the Korean
people," referring to leader Kim Jong-il, saying, "If they challenge the DPRK to
the last despite its repeated warnings, it will punish the group of traitors with
decisive action." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim Yong-nam's remarks echoed recent combative statements issued by the North's
military and an inter-Korean committee of the Workers' Party. In those
statements, North Korea warned it will take an "all-out confrontational posture"
against Seoul's conservative government and threatened naval clashes along the
western sea border.
South Korea has put its military on heightened alert. Two naval skirmishes in the
Yellow Sea left scores of soldiers dead or wounded on both sides in the past
decade.
North Korea also signaled on Monday that it will launch a satellite to challenge
countries in the region.
Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said it is the "first time"
that Kim Yong-nam issued such belligerent remarks, but refused to comment on
them.
Paik Hak-soon, a North Korea analyst with the Sejong Institute, an independent
think tank, said warnings by the ceremonial leader are an apparent prelude to a
military provocation and called on Seoul to send a special envoy to Pyongyang to
reduce tension.
"In the 60-year history of the divided peninsula, there hasn't been a case like
this, in which North Korea, without the slightest ambiguity, is sending clear
signals of a military clash," Paik said.
Kim Young-soo, a political science professor of Sogang University, agreed that
North Korea is certain to try a provocation, but said Seoul should strengthen
cooperation with the U.S. and Japan rather than try to appease the North's
brinkmanship. Pyongyang has many options, from firing warning shots on the
western border to using a missile or a nuclear bomb, he said.
"North Korea will certainly take action," Kim said. "North Korea has little to
lose, as it already knows the (countries in the) six-party nuclear talks have
different interests and cannot produce effective sanctions."
The six-party talks, which include the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and
Russia, are on hold over disputes on how to verify the North's past activity.
Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear weapon test in 2006.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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