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North Korea Cuts Ties With South As Tensions Soar

   VOA News 25 May 2010
   South Korean activists and North Korean defectors shout slogans during
   a  rally  against the North near the National Assembly in Seoul, South
   Korea, 25 May 2010

Photo: AP

   South Korean activists and North Korean defectors shout slogans during
   a  rally  against the North near the National Assembly in Seoul, South
   Korea, 25 May 2010

   North  Korea  says  it  is  cutting  all relations with South Korea as
   tensions  continue  to  rise over the deadly sinking of a South Korean
   warship in March.
   North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency published a statement Tuesday
   from  the  country's  national  reunification committee announcing the
   termination of relations with the South.
   North Korea says it will have no contact with South Korean authorities
   while  South Korean President Lee Myung-bak remains in office. It also
   says  all  South Koreans working at an inter-Korean industrial complex
   in the North Korean border town of Kaesong will be expelled.
   Other  measures  announced  by  Pyongyang include banning South Korean
   ships   and  airliners  from  passing  through  its  territory  and  a
   resumption of psychological warfare against the South.

   Earlier,  North  Korea's  military  accused  the  South Korean navy of
   making  dozens  of  intrusions into its waters in the past 10 days and
   threatened military action in response to further violations.
   The  head of a group of North Korean defectors based in Seoul says his
   contacts  in  the  North  have  told  him  Pyongyang  is preparing its
   military personnel for conflict.
   On  Monday,  South  Korea  announced  sanctions  against  the North in
   retaliation  for  a torpedo attack that sank the South Korean warship,
   Cheonan,  in  March,  killing  46 sailors. International investigators
   blame  the  attack  on  a  North  Korean submarine, a charge Pyongyang
   denies.
   Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China Tuesday
   to support international action against North Korea in response to the
   sinking  of  the  Cheonan.   Clinton  is headed to Seoul for talks on
   Wednesday.
   As she wrapped up two days of talks with Chinese officials in Beijing,
   Clinton   said   the   United   States   and   China  have  a  "shared
   responsibility" to ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
   She  said  both  nations  will  work  on  "effective  and appropriate"
   measures in the coming days, without elaborating.
   Chinese  State Counselor Dai Bingguo said ensuring peace and stability
   in  the  region  is  critical  and urged all parties to act calmly and
   avoid escalating tensions.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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