N. Korea, U.N. Command end border talks without progress

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout; RECASTS lead, headline; TRIMS; ADDS background throughout)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) in
South Korea ended their rare military border talks Friday without progress on
ways to defuse tension on the Korean Peninsula, as the North blasts the U.S. over
its upcoming military drill with South Korea.

North Korea demanded earlier this week in its first general-level encounter with
the U.S.-led UNC in over six years that Seoul and Washington scrap their March
9-20 Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drill.
The communist state accuses the allies of preparing for invasion when they
conduct the joint annual exercise, which is based on a war plan that allows for
the deployment of hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops should North Korea provoke
war on the divided peninsula.
South Korea and the U.S. say the integrated exercise -- which dates back to the
Team Spirit exercise launched in the mid-1970s -- is purely defense-oriented.
On Thursday, North Korea declared it refuses to ensure the safety of South Korean
passenger planes flying over its eastern waters as long as the exercise remains
effective.
At Friday's talks that lasted 45 minutes at the border village of Panmunjom, the
UNC "urged North Korea to refrain from taking any provocative actions that would
further increase tensions," its press release said.
The UNC also called on the North to withdraw its intention to stop ensuring the
safety of South Korean plans flying near its airspace, reiterating that the
upcoming drill is "purely defensive," it said.
Army Major Gen. Kwak Chol-hui represented the North Korean side, while U.S. Air
Force Major Gen. Johnny Weida led the UNC delegation that included officers from
South Korea, Britain and New Zealand.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, backing the UNC that
monitors the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
The escalating tension coincides with Pyongyang's suspected preparations to
launch a ballistic missile technically capable of hitting Alaska. Pyongyang says
it is working to launch a communications satellite as part of its space
development program.
Analysts say the move appears to be aimed at grabbing the attention of U.S.
President Barack Obama, who has yet to fully unveil his North Korea policy.
The two countries remain deadlocked in multinational talks aimed at dismantling
the North's nuclear weapons and programs. North Korea, which conducted its first
atomic test in 2006, is refusing to endorse a U.S. proposal that would verify its
past nuclear activities.
The tensions also come as North Korea is set to hold its rubber-stamp
parliamentary elections on Sunday, one day before the U.S.-South Korea exercise
kicks off with an aircraft carrier.
The elections will likely be a chance for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to
reaffirm his control over the country's 1.2 million troops, analysts say, as the
isolated state plays up external threats to bolster internal unity.
U.S. and South Korean officials believe Kim suffered a stroke last summer, which
may have caused the postponement of the event initially set for August last
year. He has since recovered enough to rule his country, they say.
North Korea condemned the U.S. last weekend, saying it has increased provocations
along the inter-Korean border and that their armistice has been breached.
The U.S. says it has only conducted routine surveillance activities.
North Korea has cut off all dialogue with South Korea, scrapping their past
military deals and warning of a clash near their western sea border, where naval
battles turned deadly in 1999 and 2002.
The impoverished North blames the strained ties on South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak, who took office last year with a pledge to tie aid to North Korean
efforts to disarm itself of nuclear weapons.
About 30 passenger planes, including 16 South Korean ones, daily plied the East
Sea route before North Korea made the threat through its official media on
Thursday.
The area falls into the Flight Information Region (FIR), open to use by other
nations under an international aviation agreement. The two major South Korean
airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, said they immediately rerouted their
planes.
North Korea's territorial waters extend about 30 kilometers off the coast, while
the FIR can cover up to hundreds of kilometers, according to South Korean
officials.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)