North Korea on Monday cut its military hotline to Seoul and put its million-man army at battle stations, ratcheting up tensions as South Korean and US troops began war games that Pyongyang warned could spark open conflict.
UN forces last week tried to counter North Korean claims that the exercises were a smokescreen for an invasion by promising to keep the hotline open, giving Pyongyang advance warning of anything that could cause a misunderstanding.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency quoted an army spokesman as saying: “It is nonsensical to maintain the normal channels of communication when the South Korean puppets are in a frenzy about these military exercises, levelling their guns at fellow countrymen in league with foreign forces.”
Severing military communications had an immediate effect on workers trying to reach South Korea’s investment zone at Kaesong in North Korea. Some 726 South Koreans could not reach their factories in Kaesong on Monday because all crossings require clearance on the military hotline.
The communist state also warned that any attempt to shoot down a rocket it plans to launch soon would be an act of war. Pyongyang argues it is simply planning to blast a satellite into space whereas spies insist this is a ruse for testing the Taepodong-2 long-range missile, which could hit Alaska.
South Korea said it deeply regretted North Korea’s moves and sought the immediate resumption of traffic to and from Kaesong.
“As we have mentioned several times, the US-South Korean exercises are defensive in nature and are part of annual training,” said Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the unification ministry.
Even by its own standards, Pyongyang’s rhetoric has been exceptionally bellicose during recent months.
The reclusive state has torn up its non-aggression pacts with the South, vowed not to recognise a tense maritime border and last week said it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger aircraft in its airspace. Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s dictator, is furious that Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s conservative president, has not courted him in the manner of previous leftwing administrations and has made vital aid to the North contingent on progress in talks about dismantling Pyongyang’s atomic work. Although it tested its first nuclear device in 2006, most military experts do not believe Pyongyang has mastered the technology required to fit a warhead on a missile.
On the home front, Kim Jong-il was, as expected, returned to his country’s most powerful body, the Supreme People’s Assembly, with a vote of 100 per cent in Sunday’s elections. Although that result was a foregone conclusion, analysts are eager to see whether one of his sons has also gained a seat. That would be the clearest sign yet that Mr Kim is grooming a successor, following intelligence reports he suffered a stroke last year.
10 comments:
This whole Korea issue is very unnerving. I really think that we should take care of one mess in the mid east so that we can be ready for a potential war with Korea. I hope it doesnt come to that but if it does we should be able to win this one because the only reason we didn't win the Korean war was because china interviened but if it comes to war again china wouldn't be an enemy, if anything they would be an amazingly useful ally.
It seems to me that North Korea wants to go to war with South Korea, or even the US. He seems to pushing war upon us in any way that he can, without thinking or even regreting the consequences. It would be a major mistake for him to push his country into war just because he thinks we are out to get him. It seems like he has had power way to long and is afraid to lose it.
Wow, I haven't been paying much attention lately, I completely missed all this. Kim Jong-il is so crazy in my opinion, that I can see how this rocket test could be a real threat, but I doubt he has the ability to hit Alaska or anything based on his failure to hit Japan. Also, I believe it is sad that he decided to break peace with South Korea. I believe that Il unlike Hussein could actually be a threat to the United States as well as to S Korea, so it will be interesting to see what the fallout is from this.
It is always interesting to hear about the new conflicts that seem to be constantly rising out of North Korea. Just in February they were threatening to launch a missile aimed towards the west coast; I guess maybe that is why people are afraid the "rocket/satellite" might turn out to be the Taepodong-2 long-range missile? One thing which I find to be a little bit comforting is that usually all of the threats or predictions about nuclear war and such are smoothed over temporarily, or end up never happening... At the same time, I guess you can never completely predict what will happen. I do like the last little comment they threw in about Kim Jong-il winning with a spectacular 100% vote. I wonder if anyone has ever dared to vote otherwise.
Apparently Northern Korea wants to show its country's strength. It is obvious their making all these changes to try to bait somebody to fight them. I think the U.S. should let someone else handle this matter. Even though a part of the U.S. is on the missle path. This is where we can build trust with each other and maybe lessen up tensions. If they do hit us though, this could be WWIII!
I dare North Korea to hit any part of the U.S. haha.
I don't know too much about North Korea but it really seems like they're always daring other countries to attack them as if the rest of the world wants what they have. It would be in their best interest to get a better leader and establish better relations with the rest of the world.
This North Korean situation is so disappointing. Why do they feel that they have a right to make thier people suffer, the South Koreans suffer, and the people of the world tremble in fear of their possible nuclear power.
I feel that any nation that oppresses its people in any way and seeks weapons for the sole purpose of military might and to conquer needs to be wiped out. I feel that the US and its allies should take N. Korea by force and liberate its people from Kim Jong-Il's oppressive reign.
When Charles Barkely calls somebody crazy its probably the truth. Kim Jong is bananas he is a little fish that wishes he was a big fish. But if he keeps this up he is going to be mounted on the wall like one of those singing fish.
This is absolutely crazy. North Korea is in complete domination of South Korea, and now they are just showing off. There is no need in sending all of their troops off and having certain requirements to pass through. This is crippling S. Korea by now allowing some of their factory workers to get to work. This is a big problem and shouldn't go unnoticed. I hope someone gets things settled in Korea.
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