Heightened alert in wake of Korean crisis
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 29, 2009 00:00
SEOUL - South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert yesterday to the highest level since 2006 after North Korea renounced its truce with the allied forces and threatened to strike any ships trying to intercept its vessels.
The move was a sign of heightened tensions on the peninsula following the North's underground nuclear test and its firing of a series of short-range missiles earlier this week. In response, Seoul decided to join more than 90 nations that have agreed to stop and inspect vessels suspected of transporting banned weapons and material.Â
The South’s defense ministry said air and ground forces were keeping a closer watch on the tense land and sea border. North Korea says the South's participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative is a prelude to a naval blockade and raises the prospect of a naval skirmish in its western waters.
On Wednesday, it renounced the 1953 truce that halted fighting in the Korean War. It said yesterday through its official media that it was preparing for an American-led attack.
"The northward invasion scheme by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet regime has exceeded the alarming level," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary. "A minor accidental skirmish can lead to a nuclear war," The Associated Press quoted it as saying. The two Koreas remain technically at war since a peace treaty has never replaced the truce.
Though the officer refused to give details, South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday that Seoul has recently deployed more anti-air missiles and artillery at its military bases on islands near the disputed western sea border with North Korea. The U.S. stressed its resolve to defend Japan and South Korea amid what it called North Korean saber-rattling and bluster.
It was the fifth time in 15 years that the North has threatened to tear up the armistice. Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul's Dongguk University, said the North was likely to follow up by firing short-range missiles or shells into the Yellow Sea, or by capturing South Korean fishing boats. "We're watching a game of chicken being played on the Korean Peninsula," Kim was quoted by AFP as saying.
The South’s defense ministry said air and ground forces were keeping a closer watch on the tense land and sea border. North Korea says the South's participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative is a prelude to a naval blockade and raises the prospect of a naval skirmish in its western waters.
On Wednesday, it renounced the 1953 truce that halted fighting in the Korean War. It said yesterday through its official media that it was preparing for an American-led attack.
"The northward invasion scheme by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet regime has exceeded the alarming level," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary. "A minor accidental skirmish can lead to a nuclear war," The Associated Press quoted it as saying. The two Koreas remain technically at war since a peace treaty has never replaced the truce.
Though the officer refused to give details, South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday that Seoul has recently deployed more anti-air missiles and artillery at its military bases on islands near the disputed western sea border with North Korea. The U.S. stressed its resolve to defend Japan and South Korea amid what it called North Korean saber-rattling and bluster.
It was the fifth time in 15 years that the North has threatened to tear up the armistice. Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul's Dongguk University, said the North was likely to follow up by firing short-range missiles or shells into the Yellow Sea, or by capturing South Korean fishing boats. "We're watching a game of chicken being played on the Korean Peninsula," Kim was quoted by AFP as saying.