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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| North Korea threatens SouthÂ’s presidency over drills | |
| 2011-11-25 | |
On Wednesday, South Korea mobilized aircraft, rocket launchers, artillery guns and naval boats for the first anniversary of the artillery attack on a military garrison and fishing community on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea. Two marines and two construction workers were killed in the 2010 attack, the first on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang accuses Seoul of provoking last year’s attack, saying it struck after warning the South not to hold live-fire drills in the disputed waters. South Korea has said it fired shells southward, not toward the North, as part of routine exercises last year. “If they dare to impair our dignity again, the deluge of fire on Yeonpyeong Island will lead to the sea of fire in Blue House” in Seoul, the North’s People’s Army warned in a statement from Pyongyang. “They should not forget the lesson taught” by the island shelling. If provoked again like last year, the North’s military will launch merciless, annihilating and more powerful strikes to “blow up the island without any trace,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a separate statement later Thursday. The North has issued similar threats over the years at times of tension with South Korea. Since then, South Korea has spent millions of dollars beefing up its arsenal. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Jung Seung-jo said his forces would “crush the enemy” if they strike again. Wednesday’s maneuvers took place off Baengnyeong Island, South Korean-held territory near the maritime border. The drills were meant to send a strong message to North Korea but did not include live-fire exercises, military officials said. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday during a visit to a military command that he was sorry North Korea had not yet apologized for the shelling. He said Pyongyang must apologize if it wants relations to improve. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |