Korean peninsula crisis: RoK fires into disputed waters despite DPRK's warnings

[ajtr]

Somebody attacked the Cheonan, but we're not saying who​

Posted By Colum Lynch Thursday, July 8, 2010 - 6:51 PM Share
More than three months after the sinking of the Cheonan, the U.N. Security Council reached agreement today on a statement deploring and condemning the March 26 attack that sank the South Korean naval vessel, but not directly blaming North Korea.

Today's pact ended months of intensive efforts by South Korea to persuade North Korea's chief ally, China, to back a council statement condemning its northern neighbor for launching a torpedo attack against the Cheonan, killing 46 South Korean seamen. Last month, South Korea sent a delegation of top army, naval, and intelligence officials to present the council with evidence proving the Cheonan was cut in half by a North Korean submarine.

The United States, France, and other council members said the South Korean evidence represented "overwhelming" proof that North Korea bore responsibility for the attack. But in the end, China agreed only to allow a highly ambiguous statement that hints at North Korean responsibility but shields Pyongyang from charges that it carried out an act of war.

The deal was struck during a morning meeting of the Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia -- together with Japan and North Korea. The United States formally distributed the statement to the full 15-nation council this afternoon.

The statement -- which will likely be approved as early as tomorrow -- "condemns that attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan" and "underscores the importance of preventing further such attacks." The council "expresses its deep concern" over the findings of a South Korean led investigation that "concluded" North Korea "was responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan." But it also "took note from the other relevant parties including from [North Korea], which has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident."

A Western diplomat involved in the negotiations said the statement provided more than a hint of North Korean responsibility, noting that it repeatedly uses the word "attack" to describe the sinking of the Cheonan, making it clear that it wasn't brought down by an internal explosion or a mechanical failure. The official also noted that the statement calls for "full adherence" to the Korean Armistice Agreement, implying that the attack constitutes a violation by North Korea of that accord.

Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said after the meeting that the proposed statement, if passed, "would send a unified message that the Security Council condemns the attack." She said the "statement needs no interpretation; it's very clear."

 

[ajtr]

You think the Cheonan statement was weak? It could have been worse​

Posted By Colum Lynch Friday, July 9, 2010 - 7:08 PM Share
Friday's U.N. Security Council statement condemning the March sinking the South Korean warship Cheonan, but not fingering the culprit, may look like another example of the grubby compromises required to close a deal here.

But it could have been a lot worse. In the final stages of the closed door negotiations of the text, North Korea's veto-wielding champion, China's U.N. envoy Li Baodong, sought to gut the statement of any language that even hinted at North Korean responsibility, diplomats familiar with the talks told Turtle Bay.

China's efforts on behalf of North Korea reflected Beijing's concern that its nuclear-armed neighbor might respond provocatively if it were confronted by a direct charge of committing an act of war. So, China dedicated weeks of its considerable diplomatic firepower to lessening the sting of the U.N. response.

For instance, China proposed replacing four references in the statement to the word "attack "-- as in the Cheonan suffered an attack -- for the milder words "incident" and "act," those officials said. The watered down language would have made it easier for North Korea to suggest, for example, that the Cheonan had been split in two by accident.

So, instead of condemning the "attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan," the Chinese wanted to condemn the "act which led to the sinking of the Cheonan." It may not sound like much of a difference. But it's an important one: the American negotiators, led by U.S. ambassador Susan E. Rice, have based their contention that the U.N. statement really does blame North Korea for torpedoing the South Korea vessel on the fact that nobody else but Seoul's mortal enemy, North Korea, had a motive for mounting an attack.

"This statement is notable, and I think is clear because in the first instance, it uses the term attack repeatedly, which you don't have to be a scholar of the English language to understand it's not a neutral term," Rice said.

China also sought to remove any language indicating that the council "expresses its deep concern" over the findings of a South Korean-led allied investigation into the attack. That provision, which stayed in the final text, provided the strongest hint, in an otherwise noncommittal statement, that North Korea probably fired on the Cheonan.

That investigation, which included specialists from the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, concluded that a North Korean midget submarine shot a torpedo into the Cheonan, killing all 46 seamen onboard.

The investigators -- known as the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group --presented the Security Council last month with a detailed briefing of their findings, including photographs of a torpedo tail with Korean writing and a series of test results eliminating the possibility of an explosion inside the vessel.

China simply wanted to take note of the investigators' findings of North Korean culpability while similarly taking note of North Korea's insistence that it had nothing to do with the attack.

In the end, the two Korean delegations walked away from the meeting claiming they had got what they wanted. South Korea's U.N. envoy Park In-kook, told reporters he was satisfied that the U.N. statement "made it clear it is North Korea to blame." He said, "I'm sure today's strong unanimous statement will serve to make North Korea refrain from further attack or provocation."

North Korea's U.N. envoy, Sin Son-ho, meanwhile, denied responsibility for the attack, and said his government would "do our utmost to dig out the truth behind this incident." As for the fact that the council stopped short of directly blaming his government: "It is out great diplomatic victory."

 

[nandu]

U.N. Falls Short of Blaming N. Korea For Destruction of Warship

North Korea said Saturday it was willing in principle to return to nuclear disarmament talks after the United Nations failed directly to blame it for a deadly attack on a South Korean warship.

The North, which denies U.S. and South Korean claims that it torpedoed the ship with the loss of 46 lives, indicated it felt vindicated by the U.N. statement which was watered down under pressure from China, Pyongyang's ally.

All parties in the months-long dispute, which has sharply raised regional tensions, professed satisfaction with the presidential statement adopted Friday, which condemns the March attack without specifying the culprit.

The North said the statement exposes the "foolish calculation" of the United States and South Korea in bringing the issue to the U.N. It warned of "strong physical retaliation" if they press on with countermeasures over the sinking.

If hostile forces persist in "demonstration of forces and sanctions", they would not escape "strong physical retaliation" or evade responsibility for escalating the conflict, a foreign ministry spokesman told official media.

The South Korean and U.S. navies are planning a joint exercise to deter North Korean "provocation". Seoul has announced reprisals including a partial trade cut-off.

Repeating its earlier stance, the North said it would make "consistent efforts for the conclusion of a peace treaty and the denuclearization through the six-party talks conducted on equal footing".

The talks have been stalled since North Korea quit them in April 2009.

The North has previously expressed willingness in principle to return. But first it wants the US to agree to hold talks on a peace treaty formally ending the 1950-53 war and an end to sanctions.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul's Dongguk University said Pyongyang believed it had put up a good defense at the United Nations since the statement stopped short of blaming the North.

"North Korea is now taking a peace offensive, calling for dialogue," he said.

South Korea, its ally the United States and several other countries had urged the U.N. to censure the North for the sinking, but China resisted such a move.

The statement condemns the attack as a threat to regional peace and calls for "appropriate and peaceful measures" against those responsible.

It expresses deep concern at the findings of a multinational investigation team which concluded the North was to blame, but "takes note" of the North's denial of responsibility.

The statement welcomes Seoul's restraint and calls for direct talks to settle disputes on the peninsula peacefully.

The North's ambassador to the U.N., Sin Son-ho, hailed the statement as "our great diplomatic victory". The foreign ministry spokesman was less triumphal but noted the call for dialogue.

The spokesman complained that the U.N. "hastily tabled and handled the case before the truth of the case has been probed" and described the allegations against Pyongyang as a "conspiratorial farce".

South Korea welcomed the U.N.'s stance, saying it "emphasized the importance of preventing further provocations". But it called on the North to accept responsibility for the attack and apologize, in addition to showing a commitment to denuclearization.

"North Korea, above all, must clearly show its will toward denuclearization," said foreign ministry spokesman Kim Young-Sun.

The South's defense ministry meanwhile said there was no change to its plan to carry out a joint naval exercise with the United States in the Yellow Sea, despite objections from China.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will visit South Korea this month, said the U.N. had sent a warning to North Korea "that such irresponsible and provocative behavior is a threat to peace and security in the region and will not be tolerated".

Japan described the U.N. text as "a clear message of the international community about a North Korean attack" while China merely said it was time to move on.

"We hope the involved parties continue to maintain calm and restraint, and take this opportunity to flip over the page of the Cheonan incident as soon as possible," a foreign ministry spokesman said in Beijing.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4703624&c=ASI&s=TOP

 

[ajtr]

UN washes its hands of Cheonan affair​

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON - Credit diplomacy with having averted a showdown on the Korean Peninsula that nobody wanted. The North Koreans were threatening "all-out war" in late May if the United Nations Security Council condemned the North for sinking the South Korean navy corvette the Cheonan in March, and have claimed "a great diplomatic victory" in the form of the meaningless statement that emerged last week.

It's as though the purpose of the UN statement, a model of appeasement, were to exonerate the North Koreans for the attack and persuade all other powers in the region to forget it. Now the question is whether the United States, China and the two Koreas can put the Cheonan episode behind them and get on with the



quest for inter-Korean reconciliation and an end to the North's nuclear program.

The first test of the impact of this approach will be the joint military exercises that the South Koreans and Americans have been talking about since South Korea concluded a lengthy investigation on May 20 that blamed a North Korean midget submarine for firing the torpedo that split the Cheonan in two on March 26, with the loss of 46 lives.

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has been saying for weeks that the US would join in anti-submarine exercises in the West or Yellow Sea, and there have even been reports that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington will lead the flotilla. The commander of US forces in Korea General, Walter Sharp, has confirmed the exercises are going to happen, but now both South Korea and the US are hesitating in the face of strong Chinese concerns about such a show of force in waters so close to the Chinese mainland.

Now the South Koreans are saying they might prefer to stage the exercises south of the Korean Peninsula, and the Americans are silent on whether the carrier George Washington will participate. It's also not at all clear how long the exercises will last or exactly what the Americans and South Koreans will be doing out there. Options range from largely computerized war games to all-out live-fire missions against dummy targets in a display for international media.

No matter where they stage the exercises, the Americans and South Koreans are not going to go near the waters where the Cheonan went down. That was close to the Northern Limit Line, the marker drawn on maps by the UN Command in Seoul after the Korean War (1950-1953), below which North Korean ships are banned. North Korea refuses to recognize the line - and has threatened more attacks in the area, the scene of bloody battles in June 1999 and again in June 2002.

North Korea now is blasting the prospect of US-South Korea war games in vitriolic language similar to its threats before the UN Security Council came out with its statement. United States and South Korean officials are caught in a dilemma in which they do not want to appear to have been intimidated into backing down on holding exercises but also do not want to provoke another incident.

United States officials are convinced the UN statement was cleverly worded to suggest North Korea was responsible for the attack while avoiding language which would only inflame tensions. The statement noted that five nations participated in the investigation in which North Korea was held "responsible for sinking the Cheonan" that North Korea had stated "it had nothing to do with the incident" and that "therefore the Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan".

The critical point, however, was that the statement fell far short of the "resolution" condemning North Korea that South Korea had wanted. With the danger of condemnation safely averted, North Korea is now moving quickly to follow up on this success on two other fronts.

First, North Korea is saying it would indeed welcome "six-party talks on an equal footing" in order to bring about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a peace treaty in place of the armistice ending the Korean War. The six-party talks include the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the US.

The statement indicates that North Korea would indeed consider returning to six-party talks on its nuclear program, which were last held in Beijing in December 2008.

It also suggests that nothing much has changed - that is, that North Korea will demand recognition as a nuclear power, on the basis of tests it conducted in October 2006 and again in May of last year. At the same time, North Korea will demand huge compensation in return for making a show of giving up its nukes - a process that's sure to revive memories of the failed 1994 Geneva agreement with the US and the six-nation agreements of 2007 under which the North agreed on specific timetables for doing away with its nukes.

The UN statement is sure to provide ammunition for North Korean diplomatic moves, beginning with discussions that Pyongyang is reportedly requesting with the United Nations command at the truce village of Panmunjom under terms of the armistice. Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, said North Korea is asking for talks there about the Cheonan incident.

That report is consistent with North Korea's claim, as reported by the North's Korean Central News Agency, that the Cheonan case "should have been settled between the North and the South without referring it to the UN".

One thing is certain, however. North Korea is not going to use the talks at the Panmunjom forum to make any dramatic concessions or admissions of responsibility for sinking the Cheonan. The UN statement, as the North Korean report duly noted, was "devoid of any proper judgement and conclusion" - and made "without adopting any resolution".

North Korea is moving ahead on diplomacy with the confidence that China is firmly on its side - and sure to become more so as tensions increase in the region. The US, meanwhile, is counting on the Chinese to keep the North Koreans under control while bringing about a return to six-party talks.

It's as though the great powers with the most influence on their Korean surrogates have come to an understanding in which the US is telling the South Koreans, the Cheonan sinking was too bad, now let's get over it.

Chinese professors were full of rationalizations and explanations. "China and the US will try to avoid any eruption or elevation of crisis," said Zhang Quanyi, a professor at Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, eastern China, as quoted by Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. "The current psychological confrontation is only a tension on the surface." The two, he said, "will work to have more strategic cooperation."

In the face of Chinese nervousness about joint exercises, Kim Mikyung, a professor at Hiroshima City University in Japan was quoted as saying, "Both sides know that they also have to work together."

 

[Neil]

North Korean official in charge of Seoul diplomacy executed

Kwon Ho Ung, former chief delegate for ministerial talks with South Korea, killed by firing squad according to newspaper

North Korea executed a former cabinet official who was in charge of talks with South Korea, a news report said today – the latest reported death sentence for a North Korean official over policy failures.

Kwon Ho Ung – Pyongyang's chief delegate from 2004 to 2007 for ministerial talks with Seoul's then liberal government – was executed by firing squad, Seoul's mass-circulation Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said, citing an unidentified source in Beijing.

Requests for comment to South Korea's intelligence agency and the unification ministry, which handles relations with North Korea went unanswered.

The reported execution comes as tensions between the two countries simmer over the sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea. Pyongyang has denied involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 sailors.

Relations have been particularly rocky since a pro-US, conservative government took office in Seoul in early 2008 with a tough policy on Pyongyang.

The newspaper report said it had not confirmed when and where Kwon was executed. The allegation follows other reported executions of North Korean officials for policy blunders.

In March, the North executed two senior economic officials over a botched currency revamp that forced markets to close temporarily and fuelled social tensions, according to Daily NK, a Seoul-based media outlet that specialises in the neighbouring country.

The North Korean won was redenominated in December as part of efforts to fight inflation and reassert control over its burgeoning market economy. That reportedly sparked unrest after many North Koreans were stuck with piles of worthless bills.

It is not unprecedented for the communist regime to execute officials for policy failures. In the 1990s, North Korea publicly executed a top agricultural official following widespread famine.

 

[SHASH2K2]

Major Ship in U.S. Fleet Will Visit South Korea


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/world/asia/20military.html?_r=1&ref=asia
SEOUL, South Korea — The Defense Department announced Monday that an aircraft carrier, the George Washington, would arrive in the South Korean port of Busan on Wednesday as the United States and South Korea prepared for joint military exercises meant to be a show of strength against North Korea.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Seoul on Monday to make final plans for the exercises with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and their South Korean counterparts.

Speaking to American troops Tuesday morning, Mr. Gates said the military exercises would be a "signal of deterrence to the North."

He said they would involve 18 ships — 10 American and 8 South Korean — and "a lot of aircraft."

United States defense officials declined to say specifically how the George Washington would play a role in the exercises, but its presence, capabilities and sheer size — it is a Nimitz-class carrier, one of the largest warships in the world — are aimed at intimidating North Korea for what an international investigation concluded was the country's sinking of a South Korean warship in which 46 sailors died.

The sinking occurred in March when, South Korean investigators say, a torpedo fired from a North Korean midget submarine hit the ship, the Cheonan, splitting it apart.

The George Washington will be in South Korea "as an additional manifestation of our steadfast commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters traveling with Mr. Gates. Defense officials said it was not unusual for a Nimitz-class carrier to operate in the area, and Mr. Morrell said the George Washington visited the Yellow Sea as recently as October.

Three destroyers from the George Washington's strike group — the McCampbell, the John S. McCain and the Lassen — are also expected to visit South Korean ports.

When Mr. Gates, Mrs. Clinton and their South Korean counterparts meet in Seoul on Wednesday, they will announce more detailed plans on the coming exercises — land, sea and air operations in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.

So far, defense officials have said the exercises, to be conducted over the next several months, will focus on practicing antisubmarine warfare techniques and the interdiction of cargo vessels carrying prohibited nuclear materials and banned weapons. North Korea is under international scrutiny in both.

The sinking of the Cheonan caught officials in South Korea and the United States off guard, revealing that years of military spending and training had still left South Korea vulnerable to surprise attacks.

The United States is going ahead with the exercises despite concerns from China, which considers them too close to its coastal area on the Yellow Sea and therefore a form of intimidation. Mr. Morrell and Mr. Gates said the United States reserved the right to conduct operations where it wished.

"These exercises are off the coast of Korea, not off the coast of China, so there's nothing provocative about them at all," Mr. Gates said.

The nuclear-powered George Washington, which departed from its forward operating base at Yokosuka, Japan, on July 9, can accommodate more than 6,000 crew members and about 80 aircraft, and has a flight deck that stretches more than four acres.

Mr. Gates is to meet with South Korea's defense minister, Kim Tae-young, on Tuesday, to review plans for the exercises, and he and Mrs. Clinton are to travel on Wednesday to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Mr. Gates called the trip to the DMZ "a gesture of solidarity with our Korean allies and a recognition that the issues of missile and nuclear proliferation in the North continue to be a serious challenge for us and our allies."

 

[Parthy]

South Korean navy ship sinks after boat collision

South Korea: A South Korean navy ship sank after colliding with a larger fishing boat, leaving one sailor dead and two missing, the military said Thursday.

The 150-ton navy vessel was returning to its base following a routine patrol mission Wednesday when it collided with a 270-ton South Korean fishing boat in waters northwest of the southern resort island of Jeju, a spokesman at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The cause of the collision wasn't immediately known.

Twenty-eight navy sailors were rescued, but one of them died while being treated at a hospital on the island. Two others were missing, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity citing department policy.

Some of the injured sailors were being treated at a hospital, while others were to be sent back to their base, he said. Navy vessels and helicopters were searching for the missing crew.

Damage to the fishing boat wasn't severe, the spokesman said. It was not immediately known how many crew were aboard the fishing boat, but another Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman said his office has not received any reports that any of them were injured.

The navy plans to conduct salvage operations on the sunken vessel.

The fishing boat sailed to Jeju Island after the collision, according to the first spokesman. The island, about an hour's flight from Seoul, is a popular honeymoon resort for South Koreans.

The collision occurred nearly eight months after a South Korean warship sank near the tense western sea border with North Korea. Forth-six sailors were killed and an international investigation blamed North Korea for torpedoing the vessel. North Korea denies any responsibility.

South Korea's military is on its highest alert ahead of a two-day gathering of leaders from the G-20 advanced and developing economies in Seoul. North Korea has a history of acting provocatively when world attention is focused on South Korea.

The Korean peninsula officially remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...llision/articleshow/6905230.cms#ixzz14ySw0SKk

 

[SHASH2K2]

North and South Korea Exchange Dozens of Artillery Shells​

SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire on Tuesday after dozens of shells fired from the North struck a South Korean island near the countries' disputed western sea border, South Korean military officials said.
The South Korean military immediately went to "crisis status," said a Defense Ministry official. There were widespread media reports that Seoul had scrambled F-16 fighter jets but the official declined to confirm whether the planes were in the air.

The South Korean broadcaster YTN reported that one marine had been killed and three others seriously wounded in the shelling on the island, in addition to two civilian casualties. TV footage showed large plumes of black smoke spiraling from the island.

South Korean artillery units returned fire after the North's shells struck South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island at 2:34 p.m., said Kiyheon Kwon, an official at the Defense Ministry . The North also fired numerous rounds into the Yellow Sea, he said.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he was trying to prevent the clash from escalating into a greater conflict, Reuters reported, quoting the Yonhap news agency. YTN television reported that Seoul had warned of a stronger response if the North continued with provocations.

China expressed concern, Reuters reported, quoting a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, as telling a news conference that both sides of the Korean peninsula should "do more to contribute to peace."

He said it was imperative to return to six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Reuters said.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official, who was not identified by name, urged calm. "It is important that this not escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula," he told the Interfax news agency.

The shelling came just days after an American nuclear scientist who visited North Korea earlier this month said he had been shown a vast new facility built secretly and rapidly to enrich uranium.

The scientist, Siegfried S. Hecker, a Stanford professor who previously directed the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said in an interview that he had been "stunned" by the sophistication of the new plant, where he saw "hundreds and hundreds" of centrifuges that had just been installed in a recently gutted building and operated from what he called "an ultra-modern control room." The North Koreans claimed 2,000 centrifuges were already installed and running, he said.

The development confronted the Obama administration with the prospect that North Korea country is preparing to expand its nuclear arsenal or build a far more powerful type of atomic bomb.

Whether the calculated revelation is a negotiating ploy by North Korea or a signal that it plans to accelerate its weapons program even as it goes through a perilous leadership change, it creates a new challenge for President Obama at a moment when his program for gradual, global nuclear disarmament appears imperiled at home and abroad.

Tuesday's exchange is the sharpest clash since the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, in September positioned his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor to lead the secretive nation. The younger Mr. Kim was promoted on Sept. 28 to the rank of four-star general, a prerequisite for his ascendancy to power. The elder Mr. Kim, who is said to be in poor health after apparently suffering a stroke in 2008, has hurried the succession of Kim Jong-un in recent weeks.

Other members of the Kim family and the leader's inner circle also received new posts and promotions as the leadership hierarchy was reshuffled to provide Kim Jong-un with mentors and supporters as he solidifies his power.

South Korean military experts have previously warned that Yeonpyeong, which also is claimed by the North, is a likely place for a clash to occur between the two Koreas.

It has been the scene of two deadly sea battles in the past decade. A two-hour naval skirmish in 2002 between the Koreas' naval forces was close enough to Yeonpyeong that residents reported the windows to their homes rattling.

Yeonpyeong sits just two miles from the so-called Northern Limit Line, which the North does not recognize, and eight miles from the North Korean coast. The island is home to a garrison of about 1,000 South Korean marines, and the navy has deployed its newest class of "patrol killer" guided-missile ships in the Yellow Sea.

About 1,600 civilians also live on the island, mostly fishermen, and the terrain is pocked with concrete bunkers, tank traps and lines of trenches. Residents conduct monthly air raid drills and keep gas masks in their homes. Posters advise islanders to keep an eye out for North Korean naval boats and submarines. After a nuclear test by the North in 2009, the island stocked its 19 bomb shelters with water and dried noodles.

Visitors to the island are screened at the ferry landing by military police officers searching for North Korean agents. The only regular link to the rest of the South is a 66-mile, two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride.

Three weeks ago, the South Korean Navy fired warning shots at a North Korean fishing boat after the vessel strayed across the two Koreas' border, known as the Northern Limit Line. The North Korean boat then reportedly retreated to the northern side of the line.

In March, a South Korean naval vessel, the Cheonan, was sunk in the western sea, and 46 sailors died. The incident badly frayed inter-Korean relations and Seoul has blamed the sinking on a North Korean torpedo attack. The North has denied any role in incident.

In August, North Korea fired 110 artillery rounds near Yeonpyeong and another South Korean island, the Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said at the time.

Previous naval skirmishes occurred in the western sea in 1999 and 2002.

 

[SHASH2K2]

LIVE: Korean crisis
​

North and South Korea exchange dozens of artillery shells across their tense western sea border, in one of the most serious incidents since the Korean War ended without a ceasefire in 1953.

All times are in GMT

0857: Russia's foreign ministry says: "It is important that this does not lead to an aggravation of the situation on the Korean peninsula", Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

0850: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan orders his cabinet "to make preparations so that we can react firmly, should any unexpected event occur".

0842:The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says fires are said to be burning out of control on Yeonpyong island. There are reports of an evacuation under way.

Martin Patience
0755:The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says China is North Korea's only major ally. The North Korean leader Kim Jung-il has visited the country twice this year. Beijing's economic and diplomatic support has been important in shoring up its isolated neighbour.

0745: China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei expresses concern, urging both Pyongyang and Seoul to "do more to contribute to peace and stability in the region".

0732: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak orders officials to "sternly respond" to North Korea's action, but also urges to make sure the "situation does not escalate". Mr Lee is now holding a security meeting in a presidential situation room.

John Sudworth
0700:The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says so far 80 shells have been fired in response according to the South Korean military, fighter jets have been scrambled and messages are being broadcast on the island instructing residents to take cover in secure positions.

0657: The first pictures from the scene show thick black smoke rising from burning homes on Yeonpyong Island. There are reports of injuries to both civilians and soldiers.

 

[SHASH2K2]

 

[SHASH2K2]

SKorea says NKorean attack premeditated​

SEOUL, South Korea – A South Korean military official says NKorea's premeditated attack violates the 1953 Korean War armistice agreement.

Lee Hong-ki says the artillery firings on civilians are "inhumane atrocities."

His comments came after North Korea fired barrages of artillery onto a South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday. Officials said the barrage set buildings ablaze and killed at least one marine and came after the North warned the South to halt military drills in the area.

The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired barrages of artillery onto a South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, setting buildings ablaze and killing at least one marine after warning the South to halt military drills in the area, South Korean officials said.

The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent.

The North's artillery struck the small South Korean-held island of Yeonpyeong, which houses military installations and a small civilian population and which has been the focus of two previous deadly battles between the Koreas.

One South Korean marine was killed, three were seriously wounded and 10 slightly wounded, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. Island residents were escaping to about 20 shelters in the island while sporadic shelling continued, the JCS said.

The firing came amid South Korean military drills in the area. North Korea's military had sent a message to South Korea's armed forces early Tuesday to demand that the drills stop, but the South continued them, said an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

During the drills, South Korean marines on the island shot artillery toward southern waters, away from North Korea, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of military rules.

After the North's barrages, South Korea responded by firing K-9 155mm self-propelled howitzers, but the JCS official declined to say whether North Korean territory was hit.

YTN TV said several houses on Yeonpyeong were on fire and that shells were still falling on the island, which is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of the coast. The station broadcast pictures of thick columns of black smoke rising from the island, which has a population of 1,200 to 1,300. Screams and chaotic shouts could be heard on the video.

President Lee Myung-bak ordered officials to "sternly respond" to North Korea's action but also called on officials to make sure that the "situation would not escalate," according to a presidential official. He asked not to be identified, citing the issue's sensitivity.

Lee was holding a security meeting in a presidential situation room, the official said.

China, which is the North's economic and political benefactor while maintaining robust commercial ties with the South, called for calm.

"We express our concern over the situation. The situation is to be verified," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regularly scheduled media briefing in Beijing. He called on both Koreas without naming them "to do more to contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula."

In a message to North Korea's armed forces, South Korea's military urged the North to stop provocations and warned of strong measures unless the North stopped, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.

Tensions between the two Koreas have remained high since the sinking in March of a South Korean warship in which 46 sailors died. Seoul blamed a North Korean torpedo, while Pyongyang has denied any responsibility.

The countries' western maritime boundary has long been a flash point between the two Koreas. The North does not recognize the border that was unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.

North and South Korea have fought three bloody skirmishes near the maritime border in recent years, most recently in November 2009. That battle left one North Korean officer dead and three others wounded, according to South Korean officials.

Two deadly clashes have previously erupted around Yeonpyeong. In a gunbattle in June 2002, one South Korean warship sank, killing six sailors. The North said it also suffered casualties, but didn't confirm how many. In a 1999 clash, South Korea said several sailors were wounded, and that up to 30 North Koreans died.

The existence of North Korea's new uranium enrichment facility came to light over the weekend after Pyongyang showed it to a visiting American nuclear scientist, claiming that the highly sophisticated operation had 2,000 completed centrifuges. Top U.S. military officials warn that it could speed the North's ability to make and deliver viable nuclear weapons.

The military tensions between the two Koreas also comes amid a visit to the region by U.S. special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth. He held talks with South Korean officials Monday and was also scheduled to meet officials in China.

 

[SHASH2K2]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

ROK made counterattack. ROK blasted the places where the NK artilleries were stationed, There's no deeper details, but the ministry assumes heavy casualties on NK side since the counterattack was very precise. 80 artillery shells fired by the South according to most sources.










RIP ROK Marines.

 

[Parthy]

 

[Parthy]

North, South Korea Exchange Deadly Salvoes, Roiling Markets

Nov. 23 -- North Korea lobbed shells at a South Korean island near their border, setting fire to houses and killing two soldiers in the worst attack on its neighbor in at least eight months.

South Korea returned fire with 80 shells and scrambled fighter jets as President Lee Myung Bak vowed to respond "sternly." Local television channel YTN showed smoke billowing from Yeonpyeong island off South Korea's northwest coast and said residents took cover in bomb shelters. Stocks and U.S. futures dropped while the dollar and Swiss franc strengthened.

Today's skirmish comes three days after U.S. President Barack Obama dispatched envoy Stephen Bosworth to Asia after reports by a U.S. scientist that North Korea had revealed a "stunning" uranium-enrichment plant. Tensions with Kim Jong Il's regime have risen in the past year after the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March that killed 46 sailors.

"They want to direct attention to themselves, to say: 'Look we are here, we are dangerous and we cannot just be ignored," said Andrei Lankov, an associate professor at Kookmin University in Seoul. The U.S. position had been to engage in talks when there was a prospect of democratization in the North, he said. "Now the chances for democratization are virtually zero, so they have nothing to talk about."

The MSCI Asia-Pacific excluding Japan Index declined 2.3 percent to 454.14 as of 6:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, set for its biggest loss since June 29, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9 percent. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures sank 1 percent. The dollar rose against all of its major counterparts except the Swiss franc as the Korean crossfire fueled demand for safer assets.

'Tinder Box'

"The North Korean issue is a tinder-box for the region," said Gavin Parry, managing director of Hong Kong-based Parry International Trading Ltd. "They like to saber rattle for attention, but on the heels of a nuclear inspection that indicated they could have bomb capabilities, markets can't afford to ignore any instability for the region."

By attacking Yeonpyeong Island, 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south from the border, North Korea has escalated its provocations against the South and its U.S. ally, according to Kenneth Quinones, former U.S. State Department director of North Korean affairs, and now a professor at Akita International University in Japan.

"This is one of the most serious North Korean provocations in at least two decades," he said. The latest attack "was on a civilian-occupied island, unlike the Cheonan, which was a naval warship. This is very serious."

Reasons Why?

North Korea may be trying to force a change in U.S. policy that, under Obama, has shunned talks with Kim's regime until it ends provocations and lives up to commitments on ending its nuclear weapons program, Lankov said. The attack may also signal domestic instability as the ailing Kim seeks to cement the handover of power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

"My gut feeling is that Kim Jong Il is having a very hard time controlling his generals," Quinones said. "The North Korean military is asserting itself at a time when Kim is weak both physically and militarily. Kim Jong Un means nothing; he's a puppet."

Kim Jong Un made his public debut in September, when he was named a general and vice commissioner of the Central Military Commission, the nation's most powerful body. Those were his first public appointments and were followed by a succession of appearances alongside his father.

The power transition comes as North Korea labors under United Nations sanctions over its two previous nuclear tests. Attempts to force Kim's regime back to disarmament talks have foundered after North Korea quit the six-party forum last year. The talks include the U.S., Russia, Japan, South Korea and China, the North's main political ally and source of financial aid.

China Concerns

China expressed "concern" over the North Korean shelling.

"We hope the parties do more to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing today. Reports on North Korea's new uranium-enrichment plant underscore the need for disarmament talks, Hong said.

"What is important is to restart six-party nuclear talks at an early date," he said.

The U.S. condemned the North's shelling and said it was "firmly committed" to defending South Korea, according to a statement released by the White House.

The South Korean military was undertaking military exercises on Yeonpyeong, close to the site of two deadly naval skirmishes between the two nations in 1999 and 2002. North Korea last fired artillery near the island in August.

North History

North Korea has a history of attacks on the South since the two sides fought to a standstill in their 1950-1953 civil war. China backed the North and the United States led an international force fighting on the side of the South, laying out a Cold War relationship that endures to this day.

The U.S. stations about 25,000 troops in the South and Obama said during a Nov. 10 Veterans Day speech in Seoul that America's resolve to stand alongside its ally will never waver.

The U.S. has called on China to do more to influence the North's behavior, which has proved a source of friction amid growing trade ties in the region.

Previous incidents have included the bombing of a civilian airliner, two assassination attempts on the president and incursions by mini-submarines carrying commandoes.

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak called an emergency meeting, his office said.

High Alert

The military has been put on high alert and will "respond strongly" to further provocation, the defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of departmental rules.

"What can South Korea do apart from a bit of chest beating?" Lankov said. "They are not going to start a war. I think they will try to play it down."

While the uranium program is "another in a series of provocative moves," it doesn't pose a crisis, Bosworth said yesterday in Seoul. The envoy is in China, after visiting Japan.

North Korea's reported progress in developing its nuclear energy industry casts doubt on the effectiveness of tougher United Nations sanctions imposed for its second nuclear test in May 2009. The U.S. is pushing for a global effort to choke off funds to the regime in a bid to squeeze military-related industries and force Kim back to six-party talks

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...-exchange-deadly-salvoes-roiling-markets.html

 

[Kunal Biswas]

A TV screen shows a map of South Korea's Yeonpyeong island, center, in a news program at an electronics store in downtown Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. North Korea fired artillery barrages onto a South Korean island near their disputed border Tuesday, setting buildings alight and prompting South Korea to return fire and scramble fighter jets.

reference the sinking of the Cheonan last March

A TV grab shows the moment of impact of one of the artillery shells fired by North Korea on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong November 23, 2010.

Yeonpyeong-do consists 2 islands (1 large, 1 small)
The one that Google Earth says Keunpyeonpyeong-do, which is incorrect, should be Dae(big)yeonpyeong-do, and that island is where NK attacked.
The small island that is located on south of Daeyeonpyeong-do is So(small)yeonpyeong-do.

 

[SHASH2K2]

Looks like N korea is trying to create a war like situation so that Power can be transferred smoothly to Heir .

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Looks like N korea is trying to create a war like situation so that Power can be transferred smoothly to Heir .

Dear leader is out of his mind!

 

[SHASH2K2]

World condemns North Korea's attack on South ​

World powers condemned North Korea's deadly attack on a South Korean island on Tuesday, whilst Pyongyang said it had been responding to Seoul's aggression.

North Korea opened artillery fire on the South Korea's Yeonpyeong island in the Yellow Sea, killing at least two soldiers, injuring 17 and provoking a retaliatory attack from the South, Seoul's YTN television reported.

The United States said it "strongly condemns this attack and calls on North Korea to halt its belligerent action."

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Pyongyang to refrain from further attacks, which he described as "unprovoked."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters that Beijing was "concerned" over the incident.

Germany's foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said the attack "threatens peace in the region,"

"I ordered (ministers) to make preparations so that we can react firmly, should any unexpected events occur," Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said.

North Korea's only major ally, China, said it was "concerned" by the reports.

Russia called on both Koreas to refrain from the use of force.

"Russia firmly condemns any show of force...all disputes should be settled by exclusively political-diplomatic means," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It also urged both sides to "show restraint and not permit actions that could lead to the escalation of the military conflict on the Korean peninsula."

NORTH CLAIMS SELF-DEFENSE

However, North Korea claimed its forces had responded to a South Korean attack, the North Korean Central News Agency said.

"Despite our persistent warnings, South Korea fired dozens of shells from 1 pm local time [04:00 GMT] and we immediately retaliated with military force," the agency said.

A spokesman for South Korea's joint chief of staff said "scores of rounds" were fired by the North. South Korean military retaliated by firing some 80 artillery rounds, Yonhap said.

Tuesday's exchange of fire came amid large-scale military exercises in South Korea. The drills, involving some 70,000 troops, were launched Monday and are to last through November 30.

"Our army was carrying out military training, and there was a telegram from North Korea with a protest and questioning whether this was an attack," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

He did not rule out that subsequent artillery fire from the North was a response to the drills.

TENSIONS RISE

The South Korean military is on its highest non-war alert and the Air Force has deployed fighter jets to the island.

Yonhap said Seoul was considering the evacuation of its nationals currently in North Korea.

The attack is the second incident in the tense Yellow Sea border area this year. In March, a North Korean submarine was alleged to have torpedoed a South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, causing the loss of 46 lives. An international investigation said the North was to blame, but the reclusive regime denied involvement.

North and South Korea remain technically at war, since no peace treaty was signed following the Korean War in 1953. The Demilitarized Zone between the countries is the most heavily armed border in the world.

The latest attack comes after the revelation that the North has created a new uranium enrichment facility.

Despite the development, South Korea will not seek the return of U.S. tactical nuclear missiles over fears that the move could scupper international efforts to persuade North Korea to halt its nuclear program, the South Korean deputy defense minister said Chang Kwang-il.

 

[Kunal Biswas]