US-South drills stoke Korea tensions
Source: Agencies |
July 28, 2010, Wednesday
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US and South Korean naval ships fired artillery and dropped anti-submarine bombs off South Korea's east coast yesterday, the third day of high-profile military maneuvers.
The dramatic show of force comes four months after a South Korean warship sank in the waters off the Koreas' west coast, killing 46 sailors. An international team of investigators determined that a North Korean torpedo sank the ship.
So far, there was no sign North Korea was preparing the military response it had threatened before the drills - which Pyongyang labeled a provocation - began on Sunday, military officials said.
The Korean Peninsula technically remains in a state of war because the conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Yesterday, both Koreas and the US marked the 57th anniversary of the signing of the armistice against the backdrop of the military drills.
"Since our nation's founding, the United States has relied on our armed forces to ensure our safety and security at home, and to protect lives and liberties around the globe," US President Barack Obama said in a statement marking the anniversary. "I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities that honor our distinguished Korean War veterans."
In North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, soldiers and citizens marked the anniversary by laying bouquets at the foot of the Korean War memorial, footage from TV news agency APTN showed.
North Korea, which denies any role in the sinking of the Cheonan, has strongly protested the exercises. It has vowed a "nuclear" response.
"This is an impure attempt to stifle (North Korea) by means of armed force," North Korean officer Hong Sung Chol told APTN. "If the US imperialists ignite war again, our army and people will totally uproot the source of the war under the leadership of our brilliant commander, General Kim Jong Il."
North Korea has also pressed its demand for a full peace treaty. "Military tension and the danger of war on the Korean peninsula would not be addressed for good unless the US abandons its hostile policy (against North Korea) and replaces the armistice with a peace treaty," the government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in commentary.
North Korea wants to establish diplomatic relations with Washington to guarantee that the US, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, won't invade and topple Kim Jong Il's dynastic government.
The US repeatedly said it has no intention of attacking North Korea, but sought to show with the drill that its solidarity with South Korea remains as strong as ever.
The exercises, dubbed "Invincible Spirit," involve about 20 ships, 200 aircraft and about 8,000 US and South Korean sailors. Most of the firepower has been flying off the decks of the USS George Washington, a US supercarrier that can carry up to 70 aircraft and more than 5,000 sailors and aviators.
The dramatic show of force comes four months after a South Korean warship sank in the waters off the Koreas' west coast, killing 46 sailors. An international team of investigators determined that a North Korean torpedo sank the ship.
So far, there was no sign North Korea was preparing the military response it had threatened before the drills - which Pyongyang labeled a provocation - began on Sunday, military officials said.
The Korean Peninsula technically remains in a state of war because the conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Yesterday, both Koreas and the US marked the 57th anniversary of the signing of the armistice against the backdrop of the military drills.
"Since our nation's founding, the United States has relied on our armed forces to ensure our safety and security at home, and to protect lives and liberties around the globe," US President Barack Obama said in a statement marking the anniversary. "I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities that honor our distinguished Korean War veterans."
In North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, soldiers and citizens marked the anniversary by laying bouquets at the foot of the Korean War memorial, footage from TV news agency APTN showed.
North Korea, which denies any role in the sinking of the Cheonan, has strongly protested the exercises. It has vowed a "nuclear" response.
"This is an impure attempt to stifle (North Korea) by means of armed force," North Korean officer Hong Sung Chol told APTN. "If the US imperialists ignite war again, our army and people will totally uproot the source of the war under the leadership of our brilliant commander, General Kim Jong Il."
North Korea has also pressed its demand for a full peace treaty. "Military tension and the danger of war on the Korean peninsula would not be addressed for good unless the US abandons its hostile policy (against North Korea) and replaces the armistice with a peace treaty," the government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in commentary.
North Korea wants to establish diplomatic relations with Washington to guarantee that the US, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, won't invade and topple Kim Jong Il's dynastic government.
The US repeatedly said it has no intention of attacking North Korea, but sought to show with the drill that its solidarity with South Korea remains as strong as ever.
The exercises, dubbed "Invincible Spirit," involve about 20 ships, 200 aircraft and about 8,000 US and South Korean sailors. Most of the firepower has been flying off the decks of the USS George Washington, a US supercarrier that can carry up to 70 aircraft and more than 5,000 sailors and aviators.
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