Pyongyang severs all relations with Seoul
Source: Agencies |
May 26, 2010, Wednesday
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NORTH Korea declared yesterday that it would sever all communication and relations with Seoul as punishment for blaming it for the sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea also announced it would expel all South Koreans working at a joint factory in the northern border town of Kaesong, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Tensions were rising on the divided Korean Peninsula in the wake of an investigation report blaming Pyongyang for a torpedo attack that sank the Cheonan warship on March 26, killing 46 sailors.
South Korea's military resumed psychological warfare operations, including blaring radio broadcasts into North Korea and placing loudspeakers at the border to blast out propaganda, to punish Pyongyang for the provocation.
Seoul is also slashing trade and denying permission to North Korean cargo ships to pass through its waters.
Combat fear
North Korea struck back by declaring it would cut all ties with Seoul until President Lee Myung-bak left office.
South Korean ships and airliners would be banned from passing through its territory and North Korea would resume its own psychological warfare, KCNA said.
One Seoul-based monitoring agency reported that North Korea's top leader ordered its 1.2 million-member military to get ready for combat.
North Korea flatly denies involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, one of South Korea's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, and has warned that retaliation would mean war.
A team of international investigators, however, concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan.
US support
North Korea is subject to United Nations-backed sanctions after nuclear and missile tests, and the steps announced by Seoul were seen as among the strongest it could take short of military action.
The United States has thrown its full support behind South Korea's moves.
In Beijing, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she had "very productive and very detailed" talks with Chinese officials but could not say if any progress had been made in convincing the Chinese to back UN action.
"No one is more concerned about peace and stability in this region as the Chinese," she said.
"We know this is a shared responsibility, and in the days ahead we will work with the international community and our Chinese colleagues to fashion an effective, appropriate response."
State Councilor Dai Bingguo, speaking at a news conference with Clinton, called for all parties involved to "calmly and properly handle the issue and avoid escalation of tension."
North Korea also announced it would expel all South Koreans working at a joint factory in the northern border town of Kaesong, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Tensions were rising on the divided Korean Peninsula in the wake of an investigation report blaming Pyongyang for a torpedo attack that sank the Cheonan warship on March 26, killing 46 sailors.
South Korea's military resumed psychological warfare operations, including blaring radio broadcasts into North Korea and placing loudspeakers at the border to blast out propaganda, to punish Pyongyang for the provocation.
Seoul is also slashing trade and denying permission to North Korean cargo ships to pass through its waters.
Combat fear
North Korea struck back by declaring it would cut all ties with Seoul until President Lee Myung-bak left office.
South Korean ships and airliners would be banned from passing through its territory and North Korea would resume its own psychological warfare, KCNA said.
One Seoul-based monitoring agency reported that North Korea's top leader ordered its 1.2 million-member military to get ready for combat.
North Korea flatly denies involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, one of South Korea's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, and has warned that retaliation would mean war.
A team of international investigators, however, concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan.
US support
North Korea is subject to United Nations-backed sanctions after nuclear and missile tests, and the steps announced by Seoul were seen as among the strongest it could take short of military action.
The United States has thrown its full support behind South Korea's moves.
In Beijing, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she had "very productive and very detailed" talks with Chinese officials but could not say if any progress had been made in convincing the Chinese to back UN action.
"No one is more concerned about peace and stability in this region as the Chinese," she said.
"We know this is a shared responsibility, and in the days ahead we will work with the international community and our Chinese colleagues to fashion an effective, appropriate response."
State Councilor Dai Bingguo, speaking at a news conference with Clinton, called for all parties involved to "calmly and properly handle the issue and avoid escalation of tension."
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