Warships in position as Korean tensions mount
Source: Agencies |
November 29, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A UNITED States supercarrier and a South Korean destroyer took up position in the Yellow Sea yesterday for joint military exercises that were a united show of force just days after North and South Korea exchanged artillery fires.
Last Tuesday, North Korean troops showered artillery on Yeonpyeong, a South Korean-held island that houses military bases as well as 1,300 civilians.
Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed, and 18 others wounded.
North Korea blamed the South for provoking the attack by holding artillery drills near the Koreas' maritime border, and has threatened to be "merciless" if the current war games - set to last until December 1 - get too close.
As US and South Korean ships, including the nuclear-powered USS George Washington, sailed into waters off Korea's west coast yesterday, China launched a bid to calm tensions.
Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo visited Seoul to confer with President Lee Myung-bak.
"We ask that China make a contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula by taking a more fair and responsible position on South-North Korea ties," Lee said.
Lee warned yesterday that Seoul would respond "strongly" to any further provocation, the presidential office said.
The strong words were Lee's first public comment in days. He was due to address the nation this morning amid calls from his people to take stronger action.
North Korea, which cites the US military presence in South Korea as a main reason behind its drive to build atomic weapons, calls the joint exercises between the allies a rehearsal for war.
The exercises, in waters well south of the disputed maritime boundary off the west coast, are being held in threats of all-out war from North Korea.
Washington says the four-day drill is intended as a deterrent after the worst assault on South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of more than 6,000, will be accompanied by at least four other US warships, an official from US Forces Korea said.
South Korea has deployed three destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine aircraft.
Along the Mallipo Beach on the west coast, about 50 South Korean soldiers were laying down an aluminum road to prepare for an amphibious landing drill today. Barbed wire and metal staves ran the length of the beach for about 3 kilometers.
North Korea yesterday expressed renewed outrage over the Yellow Sea drills.
The war games are "an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost," the National Peace Committee of Korea said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Hours earlier, the rattle of new artillery fire from North Korea sent residents, journalists, police and troops scrambling for cover on Yeonpyeong Island. None of the rounds landed on the island, military officials said, but the incident showed how tense the situation remains.
Last Tuesday, North Korean troops showered artillery on Yeonpyeong, a South Korean-held island that houses military bases as well as 1,300 civilians.
Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed, and 18 others wounded.
North Korea blamed the South for provoking the attack by holding artillery drills near the Koreas' maritime border, and has threatened to be "merciless" if the current war games - set to last until December 1 - get too close.
As US and South Korean ships, including the nuclear-powered USS George Washington, sailed into waters off Korea's west coast yesterday, China launched a bid to calm tensions.
Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo visited Seoul to confer with President Lee Myung-bak.
"We ask that China make a contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula by taking a more fair and responsible position on South-North Korea ties," Lee said.
Lee warned yesterday that Seoul would respond "strongly" to any further provocation, the presidential office said.
The strong words were Lee's first public comment in days. He was due to address the nation this morning amid calls from his people to take stronger action.
North Korea, which cites the US military presence in South Korea as a main reason behind its drive to build atomic weapons, calls the joint exercises between the allies a rehearsal for war.
The exercises, in waters well south of the disputed maritime boundary off the west coast, are being held in threats of all-out war from North Korea.
Washington says the four-day drill is intended as a deterrent after the worst assault on South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of more than 6,000, will be accompanied by at least four other US warships, an official from US Forces Korea said.
South Korea has deployed three destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine aircraft.
Along the Mallipo Beach on the west coast, about 50 South Korean soldiers were laying down an aluminum road to prepare for an amphibious landing drill today. Barbed wire and metal staves ran the length of the beach for about 3 kilometers.
North Korea yesterday expressed renewed outrage over the Yellow Sea drills.
The war games are "an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost," the National Peace Committee of Korea said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Hours earlier, the rattle of new artillery fire from North Korea sent residents, journalists, police and troops scrambling for cover on Yeonpyeong Island. None of the rounds landed on the island, military officials said, but the incident showed how tense the situation remains.
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