Lee vows to turn five islands into fortresses
Source: Agencies |
December 8, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed yesterday to turn five islands along the tense border with North Korea into "military fortresses" with jobs for permanent civilian communities, including those destroyed in a North Korean artillery attack.
Tensions are still high on the Korean Peninsula following the November 23 North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a tiny enclave of military bases and fishing communities along the Koreas' disputed western sea border.
The attack killed two South Korean Marines and two civilians, and reduced many homes and shops to charred rubble.
North Korea has blamed military drills conducted on Yeonpyeong on November 23 for its artillery fire.
Lee, in comments posted on his presidential website, said he wanted to "gradually push to make (the five front-line Yellow Sea islands) military fortresses" and to create jobs so local residents can continue to live on all of the islands.
Reinforcement
Most of the 1,300 civilians on Yeonpyeong Island have fled, with many now living in a public bathhouse that has been converted into a refugee center in the port city of Incheon.
Lee has ordered reinforcements for the thousands of South Korean troops stationed on Yeonpyeong and the four other border islands, as well as top-level weaponry and upgraded rules of engagement.
Lee's government has announced 30 billion won (US$27 million) to help rebuild Yeonpyeong.
South Korea yesterday continued previously scheduled weeklong artillery exercises. However, no drills were happening along the disputed sea border because of bad weather, military officials said.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan to discuss the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and North Korea's announced expansion of a uranium enrichment capability that the United States sees as a dangerous step.
International talks
North Korea has said it wants to restart international talks on receiving aid in return for dismantling its nuclear program, but Clinton made clear that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul view a resumption of talks as tantamount to rewarding North Korea for behaving badly.
"All agree that North Korea's provocative and belligerent behavior jeopardizes peace and stability in Asia," Clinton said after the three-party meet.
The South Korean chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Han Min-koo, will meet today with his American counterpart, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, warned on Monday that provocative actions by North Korea signal potentially dangerous times ahead.
He said no one wants to see another war, so the US needs to "figure out the way ahead with North Korea."
Tensions are still high on the Korean Peninsula following the November 23 North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a tiny enclave of military bases and fishing communities along the Koreas' disputed western sea border.
The attack killed two South Korean Marines and two civilians, and reduced many homes and shops to charred rubble.
North Korea has blamed military drills conducted on Yeonpyeong on November 23 for its artillery fire.
Lee, in comments posted on his presidential website, said he wanted to "gradually push to make (the five front-line Yellow Sea islands) military fortresses" and to create jobs so local residents can continue to live on all of the islands.
Reinforcement
Most of the 1,300 civilians on Yeonpyeong Island have fled, with many now living in a public bathhouse that has been converted into a refugee center in the port city of Incheon.
Lee has ordered reinforcements for the thousands of South Korean troops stationed on Yeonpyeong and the four other border islands, as well as top-level weaponry and upgraded rules of engagement.
Lee's government has announced 30 billion won (US$27 million) to help rebuild Yeonpyeong.
South Korea yesterday continued previously scheduled weeklong artillery exercises. However, no drills were happening along the disputed sea border because of bad weather, military officials said.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan to discuss the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and North Korea's announced expansion of a uranium enrichment capability that the United States sees as a dangerous step.
International talks
North Korea has said it wants to restart international talks on receiving aid in return for dismantling its nuclear program, but Clinton made clear that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul view a resumption of talks as tantamount to rewarding North Korea for behaving badly.
"All agree that North Korea's provocative and belligerent behavior jeopardizes peace and stability in Asia," Clinton said after the three-party meet.
The South Korean chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Han Min-koo, will meet today with his American counterpart, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, warned on Monday that provocative actions by North Korea signal potentially dangerous times ahead.
He said no one wants to see another war, so the US needs to "figure out the way ahead with North Korea."
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