Posted on 03/31/2008 12:13:50 AM PDT by maquiladora
SEOUL (AFP) — North Korean jet fighters have tested South Korean defences by flying near the border repeatedly in the past month, prompting Seoul to scramble aircraft in response, news reports said Monday.
Seoul military authorities refused comment on the reports, which comes amid a flare-up in tensions between the two nations.
On Sunday the communist state's official media claimed that Seoul is planning a preemptive military strike and threatened to turn South Korea into "ashes" if it went ahead.
In the past five days the North has expelled South Korean officials from a joint industrial complex, test-fired missiles, accused Seoul of breaching a disputed sea border and threatened to suspend all dialogue.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted military sources as saying the North's jets, including MiG-21s, had flown near the heavily fortified border 10 times since conservative President Lee Myung-Bak was inaugurated in Seoul on February 25.
Jets scrambled each time to intercept the North's aircraft according to their operational rules, said Chosun, the South's largest-circulation newspaper.
"It is very unusual for North Korean jet fighters to fly southward so intensively in such a short period of time as one month," the paper said.
Chosun also said a North Korean mechanised army unit was recently spotted moving south after a regular field exercise, in what it called an unprecedented military move.
Yonhap news agency, quoting a military source, said the North's military has strengthened its winter land, sea and air exercises. The drills have increased by more than 50 percent this year over previous years, the Seoul agency said.
The North is angry at Lee's tougher stance on cross-border relations, especially his decision to link long-term economic aid to progress in nuclear disarmament.
It blames the United States for delays in carrying out a six-nation nuclear pact and said last Friday it may slow down work to disable its atomic plants.
The North staged a nuclear weapons test in October 2006 but later agreed to scrap all its atomic programmes and material in return for energy aid, a lifting of US sanctions and diplomatic ties with the United States.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) office and the defence ministry refused comment on the Chosun report.
nalysts believe the North is intent partly on swaying the outcome of South Korea's April 9 general election in which Lee's conservative party is seeking a parliamentary majority.
Late Saturday the North's chief delegate to high-level military talks said all dialogue with South Korea may be suspended and called for an apology over reported remarks by the South's military chief.
Last week the new JCS chairman, General Kim Tae-Young, told parliament the South would strike the North's nuclear sites should the North attack it with nuclear weapons.
The North claims the remarks amount to plans for a preemptive strike, something the South strongly denies.
"Our revolutionary army will counter any slightest move of the South's 'preemptive attack' on our nuclear bases with a more rapid and more powerful preemptive attack," the official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday.
"It should be kept in mind that once our preemptive attack is launched, everything will turn into ashes, not just a sea of flames."
North Korea vowed to turn the South into a "sea of fire" during a previous nuclear crisis in 1993-94.
Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea paper published in Japan, said on its website Monday that tensions were the worst since the 2006 nuclear test.
"The North is firmly responding to the South's provocations," it said.
Hmm. It ain’t 1949 anymore. South Korea could very well clean Kim Jong’il’s clock.
I guess Kim hasn’t been getting enough attention lately and is therefore having another tantrum...
tantrum would be perfect description.
The Norks are hoping to get aome “take out” from across the DMZ. They will run out of fuel soon.
Regards
Ain’t it strange,,,
Everytime the ME heats-up,,,
Lil’kim starts razin’hell?!,,,
Mmmmm?...;0)
Chosun also said a North Korean mechanised army unit was recently spotted moving south after a regular field exercise, in what it called an unprecedented military move.
Awec Bawdwin told him to do it.....
Would be fun to see South Korea take out the North Korean air force, except that the mess afterwards might take awhile to clean up. The biggest problem may be the 10,000 or so artillery tubes that North Korea can fire toward Seoul, only 20 miles or so from the DMZ..... that could wreak an awful lot of havoc and casualties before the South and US airpower could do enough damage to the NK.
And just just any unit but a Mechanized Corps.
I knew what you meant. :0)
KimJong Illin' is the last person they want to put a toe out of line just prior to the 2008 Olympics. I suspect they'd shut him down personally before they permit him to initiate actual hostilities. Perhaps the South Koreans are comfortable with this thought as well.
Seriously, the impact on China's plans and the billions of dollars they've invested in preparing for the Olympics goes right down the drain if a shooting match starts up with the Koreas next door.
On top of that, most thinking nations will realize that China is responsible for letting NK off it's short leash and hold China just as responsible for hostilities as it does NK.
Such a move will NOT increase attendance...
Oooooooo.
MIG 21 aircraft.......
Ooooooooo.
The pinnacle of advanced fighter technology. </sarc. off>
guess ‘its that time of the month’ for ole kim...
“...in what it called an unprecedented military move.”
Unprecedented in that they’ve got any gas to move at all.
I’ve always had a theory that China would unleash NK as a distraction prior to their move on Taiwan. With our forces preoccupied and the Iranian situation heating up now would be a logical time for them to act except for one thing. I don’t think the Chinese will want to spoil their coming out party, the Olympics. So that leaves a rogue NK on the loose as the only possibility.
Yes, the South probably could eventually take the North. BUT the North has at least half again more troops and those troops are brainwashed to believe the dribble thrown out their way that U.S. soldiers eat North Korean folks for breakfast.
The North would fight hard and to the death. Then what? What do ya do with a basket case country?
The west should stand pat though and not aid the NOrth as nearly all the given aid goes to help the military.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.