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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://www.nktoday.com/contents/view...isaster-threat
Pyongyang issues ‘massive nuclear disaster’ threat
DECEMBER 19, 2010 22:30
North Korea reiterated its threat Sunday of a “nuclear war disaster” if the South Korean military conducts a firing drill on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, adding the U.S. will have to take responsibility.
The North’s Foreign Ministry said in its statement, “We need to clarify in advance who should take responsibility for a looming second Yeonpyeong incident,” adding, “The U.S. should take the primary responsibility for instigating (South Korea) to conduct an act of aggression.”
“The international community overall, including neighboring countries, urge an unconditional halt of planned shelling drills on Yeonpyeong Island, but the U.S. is openly encouraging an attack,” it said. “We will calculate with the U.S. all extreme situations and aftereffects that occur on the Korean Peninsula.”
“If South Korea pushes ahead with firing drills and shells cross the Northern Limit Line, the South will inevitably embrace an explosion of political chaos on the Korean Peninsula, and resulting tragedy,” it added. “We will inflict decisive and unrelenting punishment on aggressors that infringe upon the sovereignty and territory of our republic.”
Between the Korean People, a Web site run by the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, issued two commentaries saying, “If war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, a massive nuclear disaster far more severe and massive than the Korean War will inflict damage on the Korean people.”
“If shelling takes place on Yeonpyeong Island, it will generate a grave danger to peace on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia.”
The Chosun Shinbo, the official newspaper of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, a pro-North Korea group, also said, “Had South Korea not canceled its suggested airstrike on North Korea when the Yeonpyeong shelling occurred, it could have expanded to all-out war,” hinting at stern retaliation by Pyongyang if Seoul resorts to measures such as air strikes using fighter jets.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/InnerCityPress
At #UN #Korea meeting media frenzy as #DPRK deputy goes out. In Korean says he'll come back, & “not yet.” Furious scribbling & Blackberrying 19 minutes ago via web
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
I'm not watching the CNN here, but can anyone inform if what I read it's true?
It is this:
Richardson scheduled to leave in about 10-12 hours from now.
The weather in NK is improving. Was bitter cold and snowy and icy on Friday and Saturday but got better Sunday. If South Korea wants to go ahead, don't think that the weather is going to be a factor.
Thinks that South Korea won't hold exercise until after UNSC meeting is complete.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
I am afraid I don't have cable any more BR. Sorry.
The videos posted earlier for CNN are blocked in the United States "due to Copyright issues' - whatever the hell that means.
Listen to traffic on 8992.0 KHz atm. Nothing particularly interesting though.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rick Donaldson
I am afraid I don't have cable any more BR. Sorry.
The videos posted earlier for CNN are blocked in the United States "due to Copyright issues' - whatever the hell that means.
Listen to traffic on 8992.0 KHz atm. Nothing particularly interesting though.
Well, thanks anyway Rick :)
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/kprengel
#UNSC moves to "private meeting" format; #DPRK and #SK to join. #US praises #Russian "flexibility," laments China's refusal to condemn DPRK. 29 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
China is the ones egging this on. Not the US and South Korea. This is China's fault. All the way around. They are doing their level BEST to get everyone into a conflict.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
This is a BIG DOT
http://twitter.com/egalite_twitted
SKorea to go ahead with live-fire drill near NKorea this morning: reports 4 minutes ago via web
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/YonhapNews
(URGENT) S. Korean military says will conduct live-fire drill off Yellow Sea island http://bit.ly/eRuHno 3 minutes ago via YonhapNewsEnglish
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/...l.htm?No=78073
S.Korea to Conduct Live-Fire Drill near Yeonpyeong |
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Write 2010-12-20 08:15:52 Update 2010-12-20 08:20:28 |
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http://world.kbs.co.kr/src/images/news/201012/7-1.jpg
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) says it will conduct a live-fire drill in waters near Yeonpyeong Island south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea on Monday. |
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/nati...00900315F.HTML
S. Korean military says will conduct Yellow Sea firing drill Monday
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military plans to hold a one-day live-fire drill on Monday near the Yellow Sea border island of Yeonpyeong, the site of last month's North Korean artillery attack, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
"The military has decided to conduct the firing drill today (Monday)," said a JCS official, noting the exercise will be held south of the inter-Korean maritime border.
"The exact time for the firing drill will depend on the weather conditions around the island area."
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/wo...orea.html?_r=1
U.N. Meets as Tension Rises Over Koreas
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR and SHARON LAFRANIERE
Published: December 19, 2010
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...ticleLarge.jpg
Ahnyoung-Joon/Associated Press
The United Nations Security Council met in emergency session that endured into the evening on Sunday to seek ways to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula, as the South Korean military showed no signs of backing away from a planned live-fire artillery exercise that the North has said could lead to “catastrophe.”
As the day wore on, the meeting became something of a deadlock between China, which did not want a specific condemnation of North Korea, and the other 14 members of the security council, which did, according to Security Council diplomats.
In Seoul, the joint chiefs of staff said bad weather had prevented the planned drill from being held off the coast of North Korea over the weekend. Officials indicated that it was being scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.
In Pyongyang, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a former United States ambassador to North Korea, met with military officials over the weekend and offered proposals for better communication.
Russia and China have called on Seoul to cancel the drill. Russia, which called the Security Council session, released a text noting the “dangerous aggravation” on the Korean peninsula. South Korea’s allies, including the United States, Britain, France and Japan, considered that a veiled criticism of Seoul’s continued military maneuvers. China had endorsed the Russian position, diplomats said.
“They are implying the South Koreans are doing something which they should not, while we view the drills as perfectly within their rights and something they have done countless times,” said one Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations among the 15 council members were still taking place. “It is the D.P.R.K. that is in violation of international law.”
The United States and its allies began pushing for wording that, while calling for calm, would also note what the diplomat called “repeated North Korean aggression and violations” rather than just equating the two sides.
The draft text had also called for all parties concerned to “avoid any steps which could cause a further escalation of tension in the Korean peninsula and the entire region.” It requested that the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, send a special representative to North and South Korea for consultations to settle the current crisis.
Mr. Ban, as a South Korean, has had difficulty establishing dialogue with the highest levels of government in Pyongyang. At a news conference on Friday, he called North Korea’s shelling attack a month ago “one of the gravest provocations” since the end of the Korean war.
The officials who met Mr. Richardson over the weekend included Maj. Gen. Pak Rim-su. General Pak is a member of North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission and oversees the demilitarized zone and the armistice between the two Koreas that ended the Korean War in 1953 with an armistice.
Mr. Richardson made two proposals: a military-to-military hot line and a military commission that would include the United States, South Korea and North Korea, to monitor crises like these in the Yellow Sea.
A previous channel of communication, in the so-called truce village of Panmunjom, was severed this year as tensions grew over the sinking of a South Korean warship. The governments are now limited to leaving messages for each other at an unofficial office at a jointly operated industrial park inside North Korea.
Mr. Richardson said that General Pak was open to the suggestion of the military hot line and the commission, but that he did not accept them. “Obviously this is a little bit of progress,” Mr. Richardson said. His trip was approved by the State Department, although he stressed that he was not an official administration envoy.
Before meeting with General Pak, Mr. Richardson said that, “The fact that the U.N. Security Council is taking up the Korea issue is important because it will not only help to ease tension, but will also be able to provide cover for all sides not to take aggressive action.” He added, “The fact that Russia has proposed the emergency action, and the fact that China has said that the situation is precarious means that North Korea’s main allies on the Security Council are urging restraint.”
North Korea said through its official news agency, K.C.N.A., that it would retaliate if the South Korean drill went ahead and that it would strike the South with “unpredictable self-defensive blows.” The principal North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinum, warned that the artillery drill would lead to “brutal consequences beyond imagination,” in a commentary quoted by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Mr. Richardson said North Korean leaders were “very concerned about the artillery efforts.”
When asked what would North Korea do if the exercises went forward, Mr. Richardson said General Pak “didn’t answer directly, but I was very concerned with some of the statements that came forth.” But he added that General Pak “was not threatening.”
“He was not belligerent,” Mr. Richardson said. “He was positive. He realized the gravity of the situation.”
Seoul has said the exercise will be held on Yeonpyeong Island, near a disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea. The island, which lies just eight miles off the North Korean coast, was the target of a North Korean artillery barrage on Nov. 23 that killed two South Korean marines and two civilians.
The North said the shelling was a retaliation for South Korea having fired into its waters. The South said the attack by the North was unprovoked.
North Korea does not recognize the sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line. The waters off Yeonpyeong are North Korea’s “inviolable territorial waters,” the North said in a statement quoted by K.C.N.A.
“They claim it’s their territory,” Mr. Richardson said.
About two dozen United States military personnel are expected to take part in the artillery drill, in support roles and as observers. The North said the Americans were being used as a “human shield.”
General Pak also told Mr. Richardson that the remains of hundreds of American soldiers killed during the Korean War were recently discovered in the North, and that he hoped a joint recovery effort could resume.
Analysts said Sunday that it was unclear if meteorology or diplomacy had delayed the drill.
Sung-Yoon Lee, a professor of political science at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, said the South Korean government had failed to mount a strong response to the first North Korean shelling and thus had “put itself in a bind.”
“Hence, the obfuscation about the drills,” Professor Lee said. “Were such military exercises so dependent on the vagaries of the wind and currents, how on earth would a sovereign state defend itself?”
Sharon LaFraniere reported from Pyongyang and Neil MacFarquhar reported from New York. Mark McDonald contributed reporting from Seoul, South Korea.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/W7VOA
Steve Herman from Twitter:
- #ROK defense ministry: Artillery exercise could begin as soon as one hour from now. #Koreas 6 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
- #ROK military says artillery drill on Yeonpyeong Is. to go ahead this afternoon. 13 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/as...ex.html?hpt=T1
South Korea says exercises to start Monday
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 19, 2010 -- Updated 2348 GMT (0748 HKT)
(CNN) -- South Korea's planned live-fire military exercises in the Yellow Sea will begin Monday despite threats from North Korea that the drills will result in "disaster," the South Korean military announced.
The drills are slated to take place off Yeonpyeong Island, which North Korean forces shelled in November. North Korea said over the weekend that the planned exercises were a "sinister design" to violate the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 and "ignite war at any cost."
At the United Nations, diplomats were huddled in an emergency meeting of the Security Council in an attempt to defuse the standoff over the planned exercises. But seven hours of ongoing talks had produced no result Sunday evening.
Russia requested the emergency meeting and proposed a draft statement, proposing amendments which Western nations said would place more of the blame on North Korea, diplomats said. But they said the major holdout was China, the North's closest ally, which refuses to agree on any statement that even mentions the Yeonpyeong shelling.
Russia and China, both permanent Security Council members, have asked South Korea to reconsider its planned drills. Sunday's closed-door session was held with representatives of both North and South Korea present and speaking.
Earlier, a South Korean military official told the country's state-run Yonhap news agency that Seoul would not be deterred by threats from the North.
"The planned firing drill is part of the usual exercises conducted by our troops based on Yeonpyeong Island. The drill can be justifiable, as it will occur within our territorial waters," the official said.
Tensions between the two Koreas have been high since the North fired upon the island last month, killing two marines and two civilians. The South Korean military had said Thursday that the exercises would take place in the seas southwest of the island between December 18 and 21, but adverse weather forced a delay Saturday.
"We won't take into consideration North Korean threats and diplomatic situations before holding the live-fire drill. If weather permits, it will be held as scheduled," the military official said.
Meanwhile, North Korea was beefing up its military forces on its west coast ahead of the South's planned drills, Yonhap reported, citing a South Korean government official.
"The North Korean artillery unit along the Yellow Sea has raised its preparedness level," the source said.
Yeonpyeong is located in the Yellow Sea, just south of the Northern Limit Line -- the maritime boundary drawn in 1953 by the United Nations just after the Korean War. The line is three nautical miles from the North Korean coast.
In the absence of a full peace agreement between the two Koreas, the Northern Limit Line remains in place. North Korea has suggested an alternative line, but South Korea has resisted, as it would bring the North's maritime boundary close to Incheon, a main port.
A North Korean spokesman over the weekend said that the planned military exercises were a "sinister design" to violate the Korea Armistice Agreement and "ignite war at any cost."
"The shelling to be perpetrated by the puppet forces of south Korea at last, trespassing on the prohibiting line would make it impossible to prevent the situation on the Korean Peninsula from exploding and escape its ensuing disaster," the spokesman said, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea blamed the United States for allegedly egging on the South Koreans.
North Korea "will force the U.S. to pay dearly for all the worst situations prevailing on the peninsula and its ensuing consequences," the spokesman said.
CNN's Jiyeon Lee in Seoul and Richard Roth and Whitney Hurst at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/egalite_twitted
Sam Kim (egalite_twitted)
Moment of test for SKorean gov't, not NKorea. Does Seoul know P'yang enough to bet NKorea won't retaliate? Koreans watching, hoping it does. 9 minutes ago via web
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AGEUSAF
Thanks AGEUSAF :D
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/egalite_twitted
Evacuation begins on Y'pyeong: Yonhap 5 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
http://twitter.com/W7VOA
Steve Herman from Twitter:
EnglishChosun N.Korea Deploys Rocket Launchers Along West Coast http://bit.ly/hyqdVJ 15 minutes ago via twitterfeed Retweeted by W7VOA and 9 others