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North Korea rattles sword over clash
Source: Agencies |
November 13, 2009, Friday
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NORTH Korea threatened yesterday to punish South Korea after their first naval skirmish in seven years, as Seoul expressed confidence it could deter any attack from its neighbor.
The two Koreas clashed in waters off their western coast on Tuesday with each side accusing the other of violating the disputed sea border and firing first. United States President Barack Obama plans to visit South Korea next week.
Yesterday, the North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary that it will not tolerate what it claimed was South Korea's aggression in its waters.
"Our unchanged principle is no forgiveness and merciless punishment for warmongers who infringe upon our republic's dignity and sovereignty," said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. It didn't specify the punishment.
Another state newspaper, Minju Joson, also warned that South Korea would face "costly consequences." It said the clash stemmed from a plot by the South to disrupt direct talks that are planned between Pyongyang and Washington by inspiring anti-North Korea sentiment among American officials.
Obama, due to arrive in Seoul next Wednesday for a regional meeting, plans to send a senior envoy to Pyongyang by year's end for the first direct talks between the wartime foes during his administration.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Singapore on Wednesday that the fight would not scuttle a planned visit to Pyongyang by special envoy Stephen Bosworth.
Bosworth's trip is aimed at persuading North Korea to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations, which Pyongyang walked away from earlier this year.
South Korean officials shrugged off the North's threats, saying they were ready to deter any aggression.
"We will resolutely safeguard" the Northern Limit Line, a de facto western sea border drawn up by the UN command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, a Defense Ministry official said.
An officer with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff also reiterated that the skirmish broke out as the North Korean ship opened fire after violating the border and ignoring warnings shots from the South Korean ship.
The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday that South Korean ships fired a total of about 4,000 rounds at the North Korean vessel, inflicting so much damage that it had to be towed by another North Korean ship to a nearby naval base.
One senior South Korean officer said a North Korean was killed and three others wounded. A South Korean ship was lightly damaged, and there were no casualties on their side.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, downplayed the seriousness of the North's threats, saying Pyongyang was unlikely to take further military action.
The two Koreas clashed in waters off their western coast on Tuesday with each side accusing the other of violating the disputed sea border and firing first. United States President Barack Obama plans to visit South Korea next week.
Yesterday, the North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary that it will not tolerate what it claimed was South Korea's aggression in its waters.
"Our unchanged principle is no forgiveness and merciless punishment for warmongers who infringe upon our republic's dignity and sovereignty," said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. It didn't specify the punishment.
Another state newspaper, Minju Joson, also warned that South Korea would face "costly consequences." It said the clash stemmed from a plot by the South to disrupt direct talks that are planned between Pyongyang and Washington by inspiring anti-North Korea sentiment among American officials.
Obama, due to arrive in Seoul next Wednesday for a regional meeting, plans to send a senior envoy to Pyongyang by year's end for the first direct talks between the wartime foes during his administration.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Singapore on Wednesday that the fight would not scuttle a planned visit to Pyongyang by special envoy Stephen Bosworth.
Bosworth's trip is aimed at persuading North Korea to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations, which Pyongyang walked away from earlier this year.
South Korean officials shrugged off the North's threats, saying they were ready to deter any aggression.
"We will resolutely safeguard" the Northern Limit Line, a de facto western sea border drawn up by the UN command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, a Defense Ministry official said.
An officer with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff also reiterated that the skirmish broke out as the North Korean ship opened fire after violating the border and ignoring warnings shots from the South Korean ship.
The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday that South Korean ships fired a total of about 4,000 rounds at the North Korean vessel, inflicting so much damage that it had to be towed by another North Korean ship to a nearby naval base.
One senior South Korean officer said a North Korean was killed and three others wounded. A South Korean ship was lightly damaged, and there were no casualties on their side.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, downplayed the seriousness of the North's threats, saying Pyongyang was unlikely to take further military action.
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