"Well what are ya waiting for boy? Skin that smokewagon snd see what happened!"
Posted on 04/03/2008 12:11:55 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
North Korea military threatens countermeasures against South
By :
Date : 03 April 2008 1452 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/339059/1/.html
SEOUL : North Korea's military on Thursday threatened unspecified countermeasures after South Korea refused to apologise for remarks by its top general, a news report said, as cross-border tensions escalated.
"We will take military countermeasures," the North's chief delegate to inter-Korean military talks, Lieutenant General Kim Yong-Chol, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency in a notice sent to the South.
There was no official response to the comments. Media reports said the North's powerful military might close the border to cut off exchanges.
The communist state had demanded an apology for remarks made last week by South Korea's new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), General Kim Tae-Young. It interpreted these as hinting at a preemptive military strike.
Seoul's defence ministry on Wednesday rejected the apology demand and urged the North to stop raising tensions.
"The South's reply made yesterday was nothing but shenanigans," Kim Yong-Chol was quoted as saying by Yonhap.
A defence ministry spokesman confirmed that a message had been received from the North but declined to specify the contents.
"It is not yet clear what the North meant by military countermeasures. Related agencies are now analysing its contents," a senior government official was quoted as saying on the website of Seoul's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.
Some officials said Pyongyang may halt all exchanges with Seoul, according to Dong-A. The military controls border crossings.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, a conservative who took office February 25, has angered the North by adopting a tougher line on relations after a decade-long "sunshine" engagement policy under liberal presidents.
He says he will link economic aid to the North's progress in nuclear disarmament and will raise its widely-criticised human rights policy.
Lee on Thursday urged the North to hold "straightforward" talks to calm the atmosphere.
"Since my inauguration, North Korea has intensified tension. But I think relations will not worsen," Lee said in his first comments since Pyongyang earlier this week labelled him a traitor and US sycophant.
"What the new government wants is a more straightforward dialogue between South and North Korea ... we want North Korea to open its mind for sincere dialogue."
The flare-up began March 27, when the North expelled South Korean officials from a joint industrial complex in protest at Lee's harder line. The next day, it test-fired missiles and accused Seoul of breaching a disputed sea border.
Over the weekend, the military demanded an apology for the remarks by the JCS chief and said it would cut off all dialogue if none was forthcoming.
Official media threatened to turn the South into "ashes" should any preemptive strike was launched.
The JCS chief Kim reportedly told parliament last week, in answer to a question, that Seoul would strike North Korean nuclear facilities if the communist state showed signs of attacking the South with nuclear weapons.
"What JSC chief Kim said is seen as a natural and ordinary reply," Lee said Thursday. "It shouldn't be interpreted differently. So North Korea's attitude is not desirable."
On Tuesday, the North launched a barrage of insults against Lee, the first such attack since he took office. In a new attack on Thursday, the North accused his government of pushing relations towards "catastrophe."
"South Korea's conservative regime is driving north-south relations to confrontation and catastrophe, blatantly swimming against the trend of the era of independence, reunification, peace and prosperity," a spokesman for the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement.
Yonhap quoted the statement by the official anti-Seoul propaganda organisation, which it said was aired repeatedly by state broadcasters.
- AFP/yb
Ping!
It's all your fault that we starve our people!
I think kimmie is a bit scared of Lee Myung-Bak.
Unlike the previous administrations.
Bush is trying to make Libya out of N. Korea. I am not sure if it will work.
"The North Korean side in a reply delivered today said it will soon start taking the steps it laid out in an earlier message delivered on March 29," the ministry spokesman, Kim Hyong-ki, told reporters.
"The message is very short. It consists of two sentences. One says it is only an excuse, which we believe is an answer to our message sent yesterday. The other sentence says they will start taking the military actions," the ministry spokesman said.
They said they will take military actions.
Kim Jong-il is in a real bad situation this year. He needs to turn it around with renewed brinkmanship. It looks as though he would feel some momentum against his regime is building and if he does not do something, he will be in a real danger. I suppose that deteriorating world economy would make it hard for Kim Jong-il to wring economic aids from N. Korea's neighbors, and his control over general population is slipping gradually despite his best efforts.
That is, both economic situation and political climate are bad. He could be more worried than he has been for last 10 years.
In that sense, uncooperative S. Korean government is a real problem to be dealt with. However, S. Korea's public sentiment on N. Korean regime is not favorable, either. Trying to extort from those who feel that they themselves are economically struggling would be tough. Apathy and outright contempt are the general mood about N. Korea.
My FRiend, I have long appreciated and admired your posts and yet there is one question that I don’t think has ever been asked.
No doubt that ‘Tiger Likes Rooster’, no doubt at all.
But does ‘Rooster like Tiger’? ;)
Enquiring minds want to know! LOL
Have a good day/night!
Nice!
“However, S. Korea’s public sentiment on N. Korean regime is not favorable”.
From what I have read about this, S. Korea is using the East Germany/West Germany experience as their model and thereby are not anxious to assimilate N. Korea in with themselves. I think that S. Korea would prefer to see some moderation and liberalization take place prior to consolidation of the two countries. No expert, just my two bits...
Maybe also DVD copy of Team America too
North Korea's nuclear program is the only ace in its hand. It will never give that one up and will continue to extract more resources from the gullible West. Too bad China is such a huge part of the global economy because without leverage on China, North Korea will continue to exist indefinitely.
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