N. Korea says naval skirmish demonstrates need for peace treaty with U.S.

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea urged the United States on Monday to
replace their armistice agreement with a peace treaty, citing a recent skirmish
between the two Koreas' navies as "proof" that such a treaty is necessary for
peace on the peninsula.

The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War -- in which
the U.S.-led United Nations forces fought for the South -- ended without a formal
peace treaty.
"In order to secure permanent peace and stability and end confrontation and
clashes on the Korean Peninsula, the armistice between North Korea and the U.S.
should be ended and a peace regime implemented," the Rodong Sinmun, newspaper of
the ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
"The recent armed clash highlights the pressing need (for a peace treaty)," the
paper said, referring to the inter-Korean naval skirmish in the Yellow Sea on
Nov. 10.
The two-minute confrontation occurred after a North Korean patrol crossed Korea's
maritime border despite repeated warnings from the South. South Korea did not
suffer casualties, but a North Korean patrol boat fled in flames, according to
Seoul officials.
North Korea argues its patrol boat was on routine duty and that the South
deliberately initiated the skirmish to stoke tension in the region.
North Korea has never recognized the Northern Limit Line, the maritime border
unilaterally drawn by the U.N. Command at the end of the Korean War.
"The U.S. should soon decide on establishing a new peace treaty that will
eradicate the threat of war and secure peace in the Korean Peninsula," the paper
said, calling the armistice "outdated and defunct."
odissy@yna.co.kr
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