N. Korea: 'Physical response' to drills
Source: Agencies |
July 24, 2010, Saturday
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NORTH Korea yesterday threatened the United States and South Korea with a "physical response" if they carry out military drills as planned on Sunday.
The US refused to back down, saying any new talks with North Korea are unlikely in the current standoff.
In Vietnam's capital Hanoi for a Southeast Asian regional security forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a North Korean official traded barbs over the sinking of a South Korean warship, the upcoming military drills and the imposition of new US sanctions against North Korea.
Meanwhile, the US-led military command monitoring the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula confronted North Korea about the March sinking of the Cheonan, calling it a violation of the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korea War.
Colonels from the UN Command, who met at the border with counterparts from North Korea's army, reminded them of the UN Security Council order to honor the truce.
Officers also proposed a joint task force to discuss the "armistice violations," the military commission said in a statement.
A team of international investigators concluded in May that a North Korean submarine fired the torpedo that sank the Cheonan. The UN Security Council approved a presidential statement earlier this month condemning the incident, but did not directly blame Pyongyang.
The UN Command, however, blames North Korea for the incident and considers it a violation of the cease-fire, a command official said yesterday.
North Korea's state TV said last night Pyongyang wanted to send a team to investigate the Cheonan. "The truth has not been revealed," the North Korean news reader said.
At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Hanoi, North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il repeated Pyongyang's denial of responsibility for the ship sinking and said the upcoming military drills were a violation of its sovereignty that harkened back to the days of 19th-century "gunboat diplomacy."
The exercises will be another expression of hostile policy against North Korea. "There will be physical response against the threat imposed by the United States militarily," Ri told reporters.
Clinton responded by saying the US is still willing to meet with North Korea, but that this type of threat only heightens tensions.
"It is distressing when North Korea continues its threats and causes so much anxiety among its neighbors and the larger region," she told reporters. "But we will demonstrate once again with our military exercises ... that the United States stands in firm support of the defense of South Korea and we will continue to do so."
Japan waded into the crisis, announcing plans to send four Maritime Self Defense Forces officers as observers to the large-scale US-South Korean military drills, accepting invitations from both countries.
The US refused to back down, saying any new talks with North Korea are unlikely in the current standoff.
In Vietnam's capital Hanoi for a Southeast Asian regional security forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a North Korean official traded barbs over the sinking of a South Korean warship, the upcoming military drills and the imposition of new US sanctions against North Korea.
Meanwhile, the US-led military command monitoring the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula confronted North Korea about the March sinking of the Cheonan, calling it a violation of the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korea War.
Colonels from the UN Command, who met at the border with counterparts from North Korea's army, reminded them of the UN Security Council order to honor the truce.
Officers also proposed a joint task force to discuss the "armistice violations," the military commission said in a statement.
A team of international investigators concluded in May that a North Korean submarine fired the torpedo that sank the Cheonan. The UN Security Council approved a presidential statement earlier this month condemning the incident, but did not directly blame Pyongyang.
The UN Command, however, blames North Korea for the incident and considers it a violation of the cease-fire, a command official said yesterday.
North Korea's state TV said last night Pyongyang wanted to send a team to investigate the Cheonan. "The truth has not been revealed," the North Korean news reader said.
At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Hanoi, North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il repeated Pyongyang's denial of responsibility for the ship sinking and said the upcoming military drills were a violation of its sovereignty that harkened back to the days of 19th-century "gunboat diplomacy."
The exercises will be another expression of hostile policy against North Korea. "There will be physical response against the threat imposed by the United States militarily," Ri told reporters.
Clinton responded by saying the US is still willing to meet with North Korea, but that this type of threat only heightens tensions.
"It is distressing when North Korea continues its threats and causes so much anxiety among its neighbors and the larger region," she told reporters. "But we will demonstrate once again with our military exercises ... that the United States stands in firm support of the defense of South Korea and we will continue to do so."
Japan waded into the crisis, announcing plans to send four Maritime Self Defense Forces officers as observers to the large-scale US-South Korean military drills, accepting invitations from both countries.
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