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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Seoul vows retaliation after confirming N.K. torpedo sank warship |
| 2010-05-21 |
| SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea promised to sternly punish North Korea Thursday after a multinational probe found the communist regime was behind the deadly sinking of its warship Cheonan. Pyongyang's highest office immediately struck back with a strongly worded statement denying any involvement and warning of an "all-out war." A South Korean-led five-nation team of specialists concluded that a North Korean submarine slipped into southern waters and attacked the 1,200-ton Cheonan with a heavy torpedo on March 26. They cited parts of a North Korean torpedo collected from the scene near the sides' Yellow Sea border and other evidence. "(We) will take resolute countermeasures against North Korea and make it admit its wrongdoings through strong international cooperation and return to the international community as a responsible member," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in phone talks, according to Lee's office. Lee did not elaborate what countermeasures will be taken. North Korea's National Defense Commission, headed by leader Kim Jong-il, immediately issued a statement accusing the South of "pointing a dirty accusing finger at us like a thief." It called Lee a "traitor" and claimed the investigation was "sheer fabrication." It is rare for the isolated North to react to an outside development immediately. "Our army and people will promptly react to any 'punishment' and 'retaliation' and to any 'sanctions' infringing upon our state interests with various forms of tough measures including an all-out war," the statement said. The North also said that it will send a team of inspectors to verify the South's investigation. Park Jung-i, a co-director of the South Korean investigation team, said he believes the U.N. Military Armistice Commission should handle the North Korean offer to send a delegation because the sides are technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War. But Kim Young-sun, spokesman for South Korea's foreign ministry, said in a separate briefing hours later that "related branches" will discuss the North Korean gesture and decide how to respond. The U.S. and other nations expressed outrage over the North's attack that claimed 46 lives. "North Korea must understand that belligerence towards its neighbors and defiance of the international community are signs of weakness, not strength," the White House said in a statement. "Such unacceptable behavior only deepens North Korea's isolation." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the probe outcome "deeply troubling." But China, the North's last-remaining major ally, issued a guarded response, with Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai only saying that the tragedy should be dealt with appropriately to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The diplomat called the sinking "unfortunate" but did not denounce Pyongyang. Winning support from China is key to South Korea's plan to take the case to the U.N. Security Council to punish the North, as Beijing is a permanent Council member with veto power. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama supported South Korea and said the attack is "unforgivable." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 IMO KIMMIE > is foreseeing or anticipating ORDINARY/MAINSTREAM NOKORS [also read, KIMMIE FAMILY-CLAN DYNASTY] becom de facto IMPOTENT MINORITIES in their own Land, in LT as due to newly agreed etablihsment of PRO-CHINA SEZS in DPRK. ALSO READ II > KIMMIE + NORKOMS [Pan-Korean Lefts?] held responsible for loss of SECOND KORYE KINGDOM TO BEIJING = [unannexed] CHIN CONTROL. "THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE" ANCIENT KORYE KINGDOM LEFT, + that ONE in Sole will be SOUTH KOREA. IOW, KIMMIE + DPRK > 2010-2012 IRANO-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION > HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE VIA UNILATERAL MIL ESCALATION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-05-21 19:24 |
| #3 find me something that the proponents of multicultralism actually do understand, and we can start there. |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-05-21 01:26 |
| #2 North Korea must understand that belligerence towards its neighbors and defiance of the international community are signs of weakness, not strength Someone needs to understand the entire world does not play by P.C. values. You'd think proponents of multicultralism would understand this. |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-05-21 01:01 |
| #1 If the Hennessy distillery and warehouses were to burn down... it would have more effect on the fearless leader then if a million of his peasants died. (Just saying) |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-05-21 01:00 |