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North Korea Threatens New Attacks on South

   VOA News 25 November 2010
   Destroyed  houses  are  seen on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, 24 Nov
   2010

Photo: AP

   Destroyed  houses  are  seen on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, 24 Nov
   2010

   North  Korea  is  warning  of more military attacks like its artillery
   assault  on  a populated border island if the South continues what the
   North calls "reckless military provocations."
   South  Korea,  meanwhile, says it will "sharply increase" its military
   forces  on Yeonpyeong, where four South Koreans died Tuesday, and four
   other islands near the disputed maritime border.
   North Korea's statement, carried on its KCNA news agency, comes as the
   United  States  and South Korea prepare a major naval exercise west of
   the Korean peninsula beginning Sunday.
   China  on  Thursday expressed "concern" about the exercise, which will
   bring   the   giant   aircraft  carrier  USS  George  Washington  into
   strategically sensitive waters between China and the Korean peninsula.
   China's  foreign  minister  also  postponed  a  meeting with his South
   Korean counterpart citing a scheduling conflict.
   In  its  statement, the North said it will "wage second and even third
   rounds  of  attacks  without  any  hesitation" in the event of further
   provocations.
   North  Korea  said  previously its assault on Yeonpyeong island, which
   killed  two  marines and two civilians, was prompted by a South Korean
   military  exercise on the island. South Korean troops were firing away
   from North Korea but into waters claimed by Pyongyang.
   Pyongyang  has  failed  to  act on similar threats before other recent
   U.S.-South Korean exercises. But Mr. Lee said Wednesday that the South
   should  "retaliate enormously" to any new military provocation so that
   the North will not dare to do it again.
   Tuesday's  attack involved more than 100 artillery shells and prompted
   the  South  to  return  fire  from  a  garrison on the island, just 12
   kilometers  from  the  North Korean coast. It was the first time South
   Korean  civilians  have been killed in a North Korean military assault
   since Pyongyang shot down a South Korean airliner in 1987.
   The U.S. State Department said Wednesday the attack was a premeditated
   violation  of  the truce that ended the Korean War in 1953. The United
   Nations  Command  in  South  Korea  has  opened  an  investigation  to
   determine if that is the case.
   State  Department  spokesman  P.J.  Crowley  also  said  China  has  a
   "pivotal"  role  to  play in restraining North Korea. Beijing has long
   supported North Korea's leadership.
   Crowley said the United States recognizes that China cannot dictate to
   North  Korea.  But  he  said the Obama administration has told Chinese
   officials   Beijing   must   make   clear   to   Pyongyang  where  the
   responsibility lies for the current situation.
   China's  foreign ministry said it feels pain and regret at the loss of
   life  and  property  in the incident and urged both sides to stay calm
   and exercise restraint.
   The  U.S.  military  says the four-day naval exercise beginning Sunday
   was  planned before the incident but that it will show the strength of
   the  U.S.-South  Korea  alliance  and  the U.S. commitment to regional
   stability through deterrence.
   U.S.  Chairman  of  the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said
   Wednesday  he  believes the attack is linked to an expected succession
   of  power  in  North Korea from Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il to his son,
   Kim Jong Un.
   In  an  article  published  Wednesday in The Washington Post,  former
   U.S.  President Jimmy Carter said "it is entirely possible" that North
   Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong is designed to remind the world that it
   deserves  respect in talks with neighboring powers that will shape its
   future.

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

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