N. Korea flexes muscles amid tension in Yellow Sea

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS N. Korea doubling ammunition in paras 2, 10-11,
background throughout; TRIMS)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has intensified landing exercises using
amphibious vessels along its west coast amid growing fears in Seoul that the
communist country may be plotting an attack on a South Korean island, a source
said Monday.

The North, which conducted its second nuclear test on May 25 and appears to be
preparing to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile, also ordered its troops
on the west coast to double their ammunition, a separate source said.
North Korea, which performed its first atomic test in October 2006, is
threatening aggression near its Yellow Sea border with South Korea.
The border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), was the scene of naval
battles that turned deadly between the Koreas in 1999 and 2002.
North Korea disputes the border that was drawn by a U.S. commander at the end of
the 1950-53 Korean War, and says it should be pushed south of five nearby South
Korean islands, including Yeonpyeong and Baekryeong.
A defense source in Seoul, speaking strictly on condition of anonymity, said
North Korea could eye one of the islands if it decided to make a provocation in
the Yellow Sea.
"North Korea has increased exercises using high-speed amphibious boats," a source
said, citing intelligence. "We are not ruling out the possibility that North
Korea may try to raid one of the islands."
"An attack on Yeonpyeong is more likely because Baekryeong is larger and is
guarded by thousands more troops backed by island-wide underground bunkers," he
added.
Some 4,000 South Korean marines are stationed on Yeonpyeong, which is located
south of a long North Korean coastline from which artillery guns could be fired
to wreak havoc on the island.
A separate source said South Korean officials recently obtained intelligence that
North Korea is moving to double its ammunition on the west coast.
"Vehicle movements increased around naval and artillery bases on the west coast,
and we're trying to find out whether such activities are related to ammunition,"
the source said.
According to South Korean defense officials, North Korea is apparently preparing
to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile from its west coast that by theory is
capable of reaching Alaska and Hawaii.
A defense source told Yonhap last week that joint training by North Korea's naval
and air forces also increased at a live-fire range on an island just over 50 km
north of the NLL. Chodo island is similar to Baekryeong in size.
Denouncing the U.N. Security Council condemnation of its April 5 rocket launch,
Pyongyang has vowed to resume its missile and nuclear testing.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006, drawing a U.N.
resolution that imposed weapons and trade sanctions on the country.
Pyongyang claims it orbited a satellite with its rocket launch, while the U.S.
says nothing entered space, calling the move a test of ballistic missile
technology banned under U.N. Resolution 1718.
The two Koreas remain technically at war as the Korean War ended in a truce
rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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