ID :
46077
Tue, 02/17/2009 - 14:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46077
The shortlink copeid
Seoul's white paper to define N. Korea as "immediate, grave" threat
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will define North Korea as an "immediate
and grave threat" to its national security in its forthcoming defense white
paper, a spokesman said Tuesday, amid mounting tension along their heavily armed
border.
South Korea previously called North Korea an "immediate" or "grave" security
threat in defense reports published in 2004 and 2006, but has never used the two
terms simultaneously in a single white paper.
"This year we have decided to term it a threat both grave and immediate," said
Lee Bung-woo, a spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense.
The release of the new defense paper, scheduled for Friday, comes as inter-Korean
relations are at their lowest level in decades. The North has nullified all its
past military agreements with the South, warning of an armed clash along a shared
western sea border drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. command at the end of the 1950-53
Korean War.
Pyongyang also appears to be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile on its
east coast, while Seoul officials are closely monitoring the Yellow Sea for
potential short-range missile launches.
The two sides remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce rather than a peace treaty. The South first labeled the North its "main
enemy" in a 1995 defense white paper after Pyongyang threatened to turn the city
of Seoul into a "sea of fire," sharply raising tension.
Publication of the defense paper was suspended in 2000 when then South Korean
President Kim Dae-jung met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang and
agreed on a set of reconciliation projects.
The succeeding liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration resumed publication in 2004
but toned down the language, vexing those who feared a weakened defense posture
against North Korea.
About 660,000 South Korean troops stand on guard against North Korea's
1.2-million-strong military. The North has stepped up its harsh rhetoric against
the South since President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul early last year.
Lee, a conservative, has tied cross-border rapprochement to progress in North
Korean denuclearization, while Pyongyang accuses him of aligning with U.S.
hardliners and trying to topple its regime.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will define North Korea as an "immediate
and grave threat" to its national security in its forthcoming defense white
paper, a spokesman said Tuesday, amid mounting tension along their heavily armed
border.
South Korea previously called North Korea an "immediate" or "grave" security
threat in defense reports published in 2004 and 2006, but has never used the two
terms simultaneously in a single white paper.
"This year we have decided to term it a threat both grave and immediate," said
Lee Bung-woo, a spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense.
The release of the new defense paper, scheduled for Friday, comes as inter-Korean
relations are at their lowest level in decades. The North has nullified all its
past military agreements with the South, warning of an armed clash along a shared
western sea border drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. command at the end of the 1950-53
Korean War.
Pyongyang also appears to be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile on its
east coast, while Seoul officials are closely monitoring the Yellow Sea for
potential short-range missile launches.
The two sides remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce rather than a peace treaty. The South first labeled the North its "main
enemy" in a 1995 defense white paper after Pyongyang threatened to turn the city
of Seoul into a "sea of fire," sharply raising tension.
Publication of the defense paper was suspended in 2000 when then South Korean
President Kim Dae-jung met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang and
agreed on a set of reconciliation projects.
The succeeding liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration resumed publication in 2004
but toned down the language, vexing those who feared a weakened defense posture
against North Korea.
About 660,000 South Korean troops stand on guard against North Korea's
1.2-million-strong military. The North has stepped up its harsh rhetoric against
the South since President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul early last year.
Lee, a conservative, has tied cross-border rapprochement to progress in North
Korean denuclearization, while Pyongyang accuses him of aligning with U.S.
hardliners and trying to topple its regime.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
