Park takes hardline as Korean talks drag on
Print Edition
South Korean President Park Geun-hye demanded yesterday that North Korea apologize over recent landmine blasts, even as the bitter rivals held marathon talks to defuse tensions that have brought the peninsula back to the brink of armed conflict.
Park said anti-North propaganda broadcasts would continue unless Pyongyang took responsibility for landmine explosions early this month that wounded two South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries.
North Korea denies it laid the mines. The landmine blasts escalated into a crisis that saw both sides exchange artillery fire last Thursday and ramp up their military readiness.
“We need a clear apology and measures to prevent a recurrence of these provocations and tense situations,” Park told a meeting with top aides. “Otherwise, this government will take appropriate steps and continue loudspeaker broadcasts.”
Seoul and Washington were reviewing the possibility of bringing in “strategic” United States military assets, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.
North Korea threatened military action in response to annual exercises by US and South Korean forces two years ago, leading to a standoff during which US stealth bombers flew over the South and an aircraft carrier was sent to the area.
“Our position at this point is to deter North Korea’s provocation,” Kim told a news briefing. “But if they wage provocation, our response will be merciless and they will truly feel sorry.”
North Korea had deployed twice the usual artillery strength at the border and had around 50 submarines away from base, South Korea’s defense ministry said.
North Korea’s media has also kept up its anti-South rhetoric as the inter-Korean talks continued at the Panmunjom truce village inside the DMZ. Its KCNA news agency said 1 million young people had volunteered to join or rejoin the army.
Park cited a story yesterday that two South Korean soldiers had delayed their discharges and South Korea’s army said about 50 soldiers had taken the same step. Her approval rating rose to 41 percent in a Realmeter poll conducted last week.
“I think that kind of patriotism can protect our country, setting an example for young people,” she said.
The negotiations began on Saturday evening, shortly after North Korea’s deadline passed for Seoul to halt the anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts or face military action. They broke up before dawn on Sunday and restarted that afternoon.
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