ID :
48242
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 19:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48242
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) N. Korea warns U.S. troops against 'military provocation'
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea warned Saturday that U.S. troops stationed in the South should stop what it called "provocative actions" along the military demarcation line, pledging to take stern action if its message goes unheeded.
North Korean military officials notified their counterparts in the South, the
North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, claiming that
provocations by U.S. troops in the area are intensifying and could trigger
"unpredictable military conflicts."
"If the U.S. forces keep behaving arrogantly in the area under the control of the
North and the South, the KPA (Korean People's Army) will take a resolute
counteraction," the statement read.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official
name.
The North described photos of North Korean military installations taken by U.S.
forces and the monitoring of vehicles passing through the inter-Korean border as
provocative acts.
The remarks come after North Korea said earlier this week it is preparing to
launch a communications satellite into orbit, a claim its neighbors say is meant
to disguise preparations for a test-launch of a ballistic missile technically
capable of striking Alaska and parts of the U.S. West Coast.
The planned launch has raised tensions in the region, which rose sharply after
the North threatened on Jan. 30 to scrap all political and military agreements
with South Korea and declared their western sea border void.
South Korea's defense ministry dismissed the North's claims, saying that
monitoring work conducted by U.S. forces is part of normal operations.
The North's claim also comes ahead of a planned joint military exercise between
South Korean and U.S. forces from March 9-20 across South Korea. Pyongyang has
denounced such drills as preparations for preemptive strikes, while Seoul insists
they are "defense-oriented."
Inter-Korean relations have been frozen since conservative South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak took office a year ago, pledging to get tough on the North.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War
that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
North Korean military officials notified their counterparts in the South, the
North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, claiming that
provocations by U.S. troops in the area are intensifying and could trigger
"unpredictable military conflicts."
"If the U.S. forces keep behaving arrogantly in the area under the control of the
North and the South, the KPA (Korean People's Army) will take a resolute
counteraction," the statement read.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official
name.
The North described photos of North Korean military installations taken by U.S.
forces and the monitoring of vehicles passing through the inter-Korean border as
provocative acts.
The remarks come after North Korea said earlier this week it is preparing to
launch a communications satellite into orbit, a claim its neighbors say is meant
to disguise preparations for a test-launch of a ballistic missile technically
capable of striking Alaska and parts of the U.S. West Coast.
The planned launch has raised tensions in the region, which rose sharply after
the North threatened on Jan. 30 to scrap all political and military agreements
with South Korea and declared their western sea border void.
South Korea's defense ministry dismissed the North's claims, saying that
monitoring work conducted by U.S. forces is part of normal operations.
The North's claim also comes ahead of a planned joint military exercise between
South Korean and U.S. forces from March 9-20 across South Korea. Pyongyang has
denounced such drills as preparations for preemptive strikes, while Seoul insists
they are "defense-oriented."
Inter-Korean relations have been frozen since conservative South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak took office a year ago, pledging to get tough on the North.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War
that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
