S. Korea artillery drill raises peninsula tension
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2010, Sunday
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South Korean soldiers geared up yesterday for artillery drills on a border island shelled by North Korea last month despite Pyongyang's threat to retaliate again, as Russia and China expressed concerns over rising tensions on the divided peninsula.
North Korea warned on Friday it would strike harder than before if the South went ahead with its planned drills. Four people died last month in North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border.
The US supports South Korea, saying the country has a right to conduct such a military exercise. However, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed its "extreme concern" on Friday over the drills and urged South Korea to cancel them to prevent a further escalation of tensions.
The Russian ministry issued a separate statement later on Friday urging North Korea to demonstrate maximum restraint and refrain from taking actions that could lead to a repeat of last month's artillery exchange with South Korea.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that marines would go ahead with the drills as scheduled and that the military was ready to respond to any possible provocation.
"We have a right to conduct our own military drills," a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said.
Defensive in nature
North Korea's threat and the Chinese and Russian concerns will not affect the timing of the exercise, said the officer, who spoke anonymously, citing department rules.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said the drills are defensive in nature and are not aimed at stoking regional tensions.
The drills will be conducted either tomorrow or Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said.
Marines carrying rifles conducted routine patrols yesterday on Yeonpyeong, and no warning for residents to evacuate to underground shelters had been issued. About 300 residents, officials and journalists remain on Yeonpyeong, but officials from Ongjin County, which governs the island, said they had no immediate plans to order a mandatory evacuation to the mainland.
"North Korea said it will deal the powerful ... blow at us if we go ahead and fire artillery. So residents are getting more restless," said Yoon Jin-young, a 48-year-old islander.
Later yesterday, activists launched balloons containing about 200,000 propaganda leaflets toward North Korea from the island, which is only about 11 kilometers from North Korean shores. The balloons also carried 1,000 US$1 bills and DVDs containing information on North Korea's artillery barrage last month.
Several bloody naval skirmishes occurred along the western sea border in recent years, but last month's assault was the first by North Korea to target a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea does not recognize the UN-drawn sea border in the area.
North Korea claims South Korea fired artillery toward its territorial waters before it unleashed shells on the island last month. South Korea says it launched shells southward, not toward North Korea, as part of routine exercises.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said North Korea should not view South Korea's upcoming drills as a threat.
"A country has every right to train and exercise its military in its own self-defense," Crowley said.
Still, General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced concerns of a potential chain reaction if the drills are misunderstood or if North Korea reacts negatively. "What you don't want to have happen out of that is for us to lose control of the escalation," he said at the Pentagon.
North Korea warned on Friday it would strike harder than before if the South went ahead with its planned drills. Four people died last month in North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border.
The US supports South Korea, saying the country has a right to conduct such a military exercise. However, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed its "extreme concern" on Friday over the drills and urged South Korea to cancel them to prevent a further escalation of tensions.
The Russian ministry issued a separate statement later on Friday urging North Korea to demonstrate maximum restraint and refrain from taking actions that could lead to a repeat of last month's artillery exchange with South Korea.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that marines would go ahead with the drills as scheduled and that the military was ready to respond to any possible provocation.
"We have a right to conduct our own military drills," a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said.
Defensive in nature
North Korea's threat and the Chinese and Russian concerns will not affect the timing of the exercise, said the officer, who spoke anonymously, citing department rules.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said the drills are defensive in nature and are not aimed at stoking regional tensions.
The drills will be conducted either tomorrow or Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said.
Marines carrying rifles conducted routine patrols yesterday on Yeonpyeong, and no warning for residents to evacuate to underground shelters had been issued. About 300 residents, officials and journalists remain on Yeonpyeong, but officials from Ongjin County, which governs the island, said they had no immediate plans to order a mandatory evacuation to the mainland.
"North Korea said it will deal the powerful ... blow at us if we go ahead and fire artillery. So residents are getting more restless," said Yoon Jin-young, a 48-year-old islander.
Later yesterday, activists launched balloons containing about 200,000 propaganda leaflets toward North Korea from the island, which is only about 11 kilometers from North Korean shores. The balloons also carried 1,000 US$1 bills and DVDs containing information on North Korea's artillery barrage last month.
Several bloody naval skirmishes occurred along the western sea border in recent years, but last month's assault was the first by North Korea to target a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea does not recognize the UN-drawn sea border in the area.
North Korea claims South Korea fired artillery toward its territorial waters before it unleashed shells on the island last month. South Korea says it launched shells southward, not toward North Korea, as part of routine exercises.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said North Korea should not view South Korea's upcoming drills as a threat.
"A country has every right to train and exercise its military in its own self-defense," Crowley said.
Still, General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced concerns of a potential chain reaction if the drills are misunderstood or if North Korea reacts negatively. "What you don't want to have happen out of that is for us to lose control of the escalation," he said at the Pentagon.
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