ID :
62715
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/62715
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea bolsters combat drills amid tension with S. Korea: source
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has recently stepped up its combined
military exercises in regions close to South Korea and increased surveillance
over their border, a source said Wednesday.
Its leader Kim Jong-il inspected a special forces drill at an eastern coastal
city in mid-April while naval and air forces have bolstered their joint training
based on a war scenario off the west coast, the source said, demanding anonymity.
Tension runs high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea said Monday it
conducted an underground nuclear test, the second time it has defied outside
condemnation against such action since the first test in 2006.
The North also fired a long-range rocket on April 5 despite warnings it would be
considered a disguised test of ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang claims it
put a satellite in orbit with the launch while the U.S. and its allies say
nothing entered space.
"North Korea is intensifying its military training despite its economic
difficulties," the South Korean military source said, adding Kim visited the city
of Wonsan on April 15 to observe an Army drill.
Kim, 67, who reportedly suffered a stroke last year, visited the city about 90
kilometers north of the inter-Korean border to inspect "industrial facilities,"
North Korean state media had said on April 27.
"Overnight special forces marches on mountains were stepped up in the area," the
source said, adding North Korean naval and air forces have also increased
"practical training" in the west.
"The Navy appears to be stepping up exercises off the island of Chodo with a
hypothetical target in mind," he said. Chodo is the largest North Korean island
along the country's southwestern coast.
It is about the size of Baekryeongdo, South Korea's northernmost island. Naval
clashes turned deadly in 1999 and 2002 near the sea border between the Koreas,
which fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce.
North Korea, which has warned of a repeat of an armed conflict in the Yellow Sea
this year, has more than doubled the number of sorties by its aircraft in the
west, the source said.
"The Navy and the Air Force are training jointly based on a war plan," he said,
noting the country routinely checks its war plans through joint exercises between
the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.
"It appears that North Korea's combat readiness is at its peak," the source added.
North Korea has also bolstered its monitoring of the Demilitarized Zone that cuts
across the Korean Peninsula, the source said. He declined to elaborate, but said
South Korea considers the frontier as one of the "likeliest" places where North
Korea may attempt further provocation.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has recently stepped up its combined
military exercises in regions close to South Korea and increased surveillance
over their border, a source said Wednesday.
Its leader Kim Jong-il inspected a special forces drill at an eastern coastal
city in mid-April while naval and air forces have bolstered their joint training
based on a war scenario off the west coast, the source said, demanding anonymity.
Tension runs high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea said Monday it
conducted an underground nuclear test, the second time it has defied outside
condemnation against such action since the first test in 2006.
The North also fired a long-range rocket on April 5 despite warnings it would be
considered a disguised test of ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang claims it
put a satellite in orbit with the launch while the U.S. and its allies say
nothing entered space.
"North Korea is intensifying its military training despite its economic
difficulties," the South Korean military source said, adding Kim visited the city
of Wonsan on April 15 to observe an Army drill.
Kim, 67, who reportedly suffered a stroke last year, visited the city about 90
kilometers north of the inter-Korean border to inspect "industrial facilities,"
North Korean state media had said on April 27.
"Overnight special forces marches on mountains were stepped up in the area," the
source said, adding North Korean naval and air forces have also increased
"practical training" in the west.
"The Navy appears to be stepping up exercises off the island of Chodo with a
hypothetical target in mind," he said. Chodo is the largest North Korean island
along the country's southwestern coast.
It is about the size of Baekryeongdo, South Korea's northernmost island. Naval
clashes turned deadly in 1999 and 2002 near the sea border between the Koreas,
which fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce.
North Korea, which has warned of a repeat of an armed conflict in the Yellow Sea
this year, has more than doubled the number of sorties by its aircraft in the
west, the source said.
"The Navy and the Air Force are training jointly based on a war plan," he said,
noting the country routinely checks its war plans through joint exercises between
the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.
"It appears that North Korea's combat readiness is at its peak," the source added.
North Korea has also bolstered its monitoring of the Demilitarized Zone that cuts
across the Korean Peninsula, the source said. He declined to elaborate, but said
South Korea considers the frontier as one of the "likeliest" places where North
Korea may attempt further provocation.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
