S. Korea vows to repel any N. Korean provocation near sea border

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea maintains naval superiority over North
Korea along their western sea border and will respond swiftly if the communist
state attempts an armed provocation there, its officials said Wednesday.

North Korea said earlier in the day it will no longer guarantee the safety of
U.S. and South Korean vessels in the waters off its southwestern coast.
It also vowed "merciless retaliation" against any foreign attempt to intercept
and search its vessels, declaring it is no longer bound by the truce that ended
the 1950-53 Korean War.
The threat came a day after South Korea announced its full participation in a
U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign in apparent response to the North's nuclear
test Monday.
North Korea has warned that such a move would constitute a declaration of war,
calling it a precursor to a naval blockade.
A South Korean defense official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity,
said the South Korean military is ready to retaliate quickly should North Korea
go ahead with an armed conflict near the Yellow Sea border.
"It remains our top priority to maintain superiority over North Korea in armed
capabilities in the area," the official said.
"We'll strike back quickly and try to stop clashes from spreading into a
full-fledged conflict," he said, meaning the military will try to localize any
conflict.
The gunboats of the two Koreas clashed near one of the South Korean islands,
Yeonpyeong, in 1999 and 2002, resulting in the deaths of dozens on both sides.
Another official said South Korea has deployed one of its destroyers further
north to the border, intensifying its watch over North Korean forces in the area.
According to a source in Seoul, North Korea has recently stepped up its naval and
air force exercises at one of its islands north of the southwestern coast.
The forces appear in top form, the source said, while the number of aircraft
activities has more than doubled compared to last year.
"The Navy appears to be stepping up exercises off the island of Chodo with a
hypothetical target in mind," the source said. Chodo is situated along the
southwestern coast.
"The Navy and the Air Force are training jointly based on a war plan," he said,
calling the drills "large" in scale.
"It appears that North Korea's combat readiness is at its peak," he said.
Surveillance along the border has increased, the source said, adding North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il inspected a special forces drill on the east coast on April
15.
"North Korea is intensifying its military training despite its economic
difficulties," he said. "Overnight marches of special forces in the mountains
were stepped up in the area."
Monday's nuclear test is the second of its kind since North Korea detonated an
atomic device in its northeastern region in October 2006.
North Korea coupled both tests with firings of a series of missiles, mostly
short-range ones. On April 5 this year, the country launched a rocket that the
U.S. and its allies fear could be converted into a ballistic missile capable of
reaching Alaska and Hawaii.
The North said it put a scientific satellite into orbit with the launch, while
its neighbors said nothing entered space.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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