ID :
48036
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 21:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48036
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean defense chief blasts N. Korea over frayed ties, tension
(ATTN: CLARIFIES venue of defense minister's speech in 4th para; RECASTS headline)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is straining cross-border ties and
threatening regional peace by escalating tensions, South Korea's top defense
official said Friday, urging a group of newly commissioned officers to stay ready
to repel any armed provocation.
The speech, released by the Ministry of National Defense, came as Minister Lee
Sang-hee stepped up his warning against North Korea, which recently threatened an
armed clash near the western sea border.
The Northern Limit Line, where naval skirmishes turned bloody in 1999 and 2002,
was drawn by a U.N. command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang
insists it be pushed further south.
"The North's provocative words and behavior, along with its recent moves to
generate tension, are not only straining inter-Korean relations but also
threatening regional peace and stability," Lee told about 4,300 ROTC officers at
a cadet school south of Seoul.
"In a time like this, our military should have the strong capability and
determination to deter the enemy (from aggression), and defeat it if the
deterrence fails," he said, describing the North's 1.2 million troops as "a
direct and serious threat."
"Only a strong military has a reason to exist," he said.
North Korea, which has scrapped all cross-border military pacts and accuses South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak of courting war, said this week it is preparing to
launch a satellite.
Outside officials say Pyongyang may actually be planning to test-fire a ballistic
missile capable of reaching the western United States, and have urged the
communist country to stop the preparations.
Relations between the Koreas dropped to the lowest level in a decade after Lee
took office in Seoul early last year with a pledge to tie reconciliation to
progress in North Korean efforts to denuclearize.
Pyongyang reacted bitterly, accusing Lee of slighting past rapprochement and
aligning with U.S. hardliners seeking to undermine its regime.
The two countries remain technically at war, as the Korean War ended in a
cease-fire rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is straining cross-border ties and
threatening regional peace by escalating tensions, South Korea's top defense
official said Friday, urging a group of newly commissioned officers to stay ready
to repel any armed provocation.
The speech, released by the Ministry of National Defense, came as Minister Lee
Sang-hee stepped up his warning against North Korea, which recently threatened an
armed clash near the western sea border.
The Northern Limit Line, where naval skirmishes turned bloody in 1999 and 2002,
was drawn by a U.N. command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang
insists it be pushed further south.
"The North's provocative words and behavior, along with its recent moves to
generate tension, are not only straining inter-Korean relations but also
threatening regional peace and stability," Lee told about 4,300 ROTC officers at
a cadet school south of Seoul.
"In a time like this, our military should have the strong capability and
determination to deter the enemy (from aggression), and defeat it if the
deterrence fails," he said, describing the North's 1.2 million troops as "a
direct and serious threat."
"Only a strong military has a reason to exist," he said.
North Korea, which has scrapped all cross-border military pacts and accuses South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak of courting war, said this week it is preparing to
launch a satellite.
Outside officials say Pyongyang may actually be planning to test-fire a ballistic
missile capable of reaching the western United States, and have urged the
communist country to stop the preparations.
Relations between the Koreas dropped to the lowest level in a decade after Lee
took office in Seoul early last year with a pledge to tie reconciliation to
progress in North Korean efforts to denuclearize.
Pyongyang reacted bitterly, accusing Lee of slighting past rapprochement and
aligning with U.S. hardliners seeking to undermine its regime.
The two countries remain technically at war, as the Korean War ended in a
cease-fire rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
