SKorea calls for urgency in NKorean disarmament

Becky Bohrer, Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | Wed, 12/29/2010 11:15 AM | World

South Korea's president is calling for urgency in dismantling North Korea's atomic weapons program, saying the country's nuclear disarmament must be achieved through diplomacy.

President Lee Myung-bak made the remarks Wednesday. He cited as a reason for urgency the North's push to build a powerful nation in 2012 during the 100th year after the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung.

Lee says there must be "big progress" in the North's denuclearization next year, and says it must be done through the now-stalled six-party disarmament talks.

It was not clear if Lee's comments reflected a new flexibility on when to resume the talks. Seoul previously has been hesitant to restart them until Pyongyang shows a firm commitment to denuclearization.

SKorea vows retaliation if North attacks again

Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | Mon, 12/27/2010 11:47 AM | World

South Korea's president vowed a relentless retaliation against North Korea if provoked again, saying Monday he is not afraid of a war with the communist North.

The two Koreas have ramped up their rhetoric since North Korea shelled front-line Yeonpyeong Island near the tense western sea border last month, killing four South Koreans. Both sides accuse each other of provoking first.

On Monday, President Lee Myung-bak used much of his regular address to vow to get tougher with any new provocation by North Korea.

"We have now been awakened to the realization that war can be prevented and peace assured only when such provocations are met with a strong response," Lee said. "Fear of war is never helpful in preventing war."

He said South Korea's military "must respond relentlessly when they come under attack."

South Korea has staged a series of military drills - including one on Yeonpyeong Island on Dec. 20 - in a show of force against the North. The South was to begin routine naval firing exercises starting Monday but not on Yeonpyeong and other border islands, according to the Defense Ministry.

North Korea, for its part, has also kept up rhetoric around last Friday's 19th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's appointment as the North's supreme military commander. Kim's military chief threatened last week to launch a "sacred" nuclear war against the South.

On Friday, North Korean soldiers appeared on a state TV program and bragged of participating in the artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong - the country's first attacks on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas are still technicallyat war because their 1950s conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. In recent years, several bloody naval skirmishes occurred near their disputed western sea border - drawn by the U.N. at the close of the Korean War.

SKorea holds massive new drills after North attack

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 12/23/2010 8:10 AM | National

South Korea on Thursday mobilized hundreds of troops, tanks, helicopters and jet fighters for a massive military exercise aimed at sending North Korea a message of strength amid high tensions on the peninsula.

The firing drills set for later in the day near the Koreas' heavily armed land border signaled that South Korea is willing to risk further escalating tensions with North Korea, which shelled a southern island off the Koreas' western coast on Nov. 23, killing four South Koreans and stirring fears of war.

The attack was portrayed by Pyongyang as a retaliation for southern military exercises on Yeonpyeong island that day.

South Korea has conducted 47 military drills this year similar to the one planned for Thursday, which was scheduled in response to the North Korean attack, an army officer said on condition of anonymity citing department rules. Thursday's drill will be the biggest-ever wintertime joint firing exercise that South Korea's army and air force have staged, an army statement said.

"We will completely punish the enemy if it provokes us again like the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island," Brig. Gen. Ju Eun-sik, chief of the army's 1st armored brigade, said separately.

South Korean forces are on high alert even though the North backed down from its threat to again retaliate over a separate firing drill the South held Monday on Yeonpyeong in disputed western waters.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since their 1950s conflict ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. The past month's military tension, however, has been the worst in several years.

The North has made conciliatory remarks in recent days - telling a visiting U.S. governor it might allow international inspections of its nuclear programs - but Seoul is mindful of past surprise attacks and still is bracing for possible aggression.

The White House dismissed concern that South Korea's exercises could lead to any escalation of the situation.

"I think exercises that have been announced well in advance, that are transparent, that are defensive in nature, should in no way engender a response from the North Koreans," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a briefing on Wednesday.

South Korea's navy also began annual four-day firing and anti-submarine exercises Wednesday off the country's eastern coast. That area has been less tnse recently but in the past, the North has used eastern waters as a submarine route for communist agents to infiltrate South Korea.

The Koreas' recent military skirmishes, including last month's artillery bombardment, have been in the tense western waters, where Pyongyang does not recognize the U.N.-drawborder.

Thursday's air force and army drills will involve 800 troops, F-15K and KF-16 jet fighters, K-1 tanks, AH-1S attack helicopters and K-9 self-propelled guns. They will take place in Pocheon, about 30 miles (45 kilometers) north of Seoul and about 21 miles (33 kilometers) south of the North Korean brder.

Seoul has relocated more artillery on Yeonpyeong island following last month's shelling and plans to deploy Israeli-made Spike missiles there soon, Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified military official. The Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to confirm the report.

North Korea, meanwhle, indicated to visiting New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that it was prepared to consider ways to work with the South on restoring security along the border.

Richardson praised Pyongyang for refraining from retaliation and said his visit to the North provided an opening for a resumption of negotiations aied at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea pulled out of six-nation talks to provide Pyongyang with aid in exchange for disarmament in April 2009, but since has said it is willing to resume them.

The White House, however, rejected the idea, saying Pyongyang needed to change its "belligerent" behavior first and was not "even remotely ready" for negotiations.

In Seoul, a senior South Korean government official said the military would remain prepared for the possibility of a "surprise" attack in coming days. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Separately, about 200 South Koreans attended a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening for the four South Koreans killed by North Korea's attack on the Yeonpyeong.

They observed a moment of silence and placed flowers on a makeshift mourning site in central Seoul. "We, the survivors, should remember their sacrifice and make efforts to ensure that their sacrifice will not be in vain," said Choi Hong-jae, a 42-year-old executive.

SKorea begins routine naval drills amid tension

The Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | Wed, 12/22/2010 9:30 AM | World

South Korea has begun annual naval exercises off its east coast as tensions with North Korea remain high.

The drills beginning Wednesday and ending Saturday are on the opposite coast from the disputed sea border where North Korea shelled a front-line island a month ago.

But South Korea's military is on high alert following firing exercises from the island Monday.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff officer says navy ships will fire artillery and conduct anti-submarine exercises. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

Most of the Koreas' recent military skirmishes have taken place near the western sea frontier drawn by U.N. forces at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea rejects the boundary.

SKorea to conduct firing drills from border island

The Associated Press, Seoul | Mon, 12/20/2010 8:52 AM | World

South Korea will go ahead with live firing drills Monday despite North Korea's threat to retaliate, the South's military said, sharply ramping up tensions as the U.N. failed to find a solution.

Marines will conduct the one-day artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island - shelled by a North Korean artillery barrage last month - and the exact timing will be determined by weather conditions, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korea's military will "immediately and stenly" deal with any possible provocation by North Korea, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department rules.

Residents, local officials and journalists on the island were ordered to evacuate to underground shelters because of possible attacks by North Korea, he said.

Yonhap nws agency, citing an unidentified military officer, said the firing may start as early as around 11 a.m. (0200 GMT). The Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said he couldn't confirm the report.

The orth has warned of a "catastrophe" if South Korea goes ahead with the drills.

The North has said it would strike back harder than it did last month, when two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed on the island.

The U.N. Security Council failed Sunday to agree on a statement to address rsing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States and other council members demanded that the council condemn North Korea for two deadly attacks this year that have helped send relations to their lowest point in decades. But diplomats said China strongly objected.

After eight hours of closed-door consultations Sunday, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who called the emergency council meeting, told reporters "we were not successful in bridging all the bridges."

Although some countries still need to consult capitals, Rice said "the gaps that remain are unliely to be bridged."