Korean War Ends

Source: Russia Today

BREAKING NEWS:

A new era of peace is beginning, according to a declaration signed by the leaders of North and South Korea after their first meeting in over a decade. Both nations are aiming to completely denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

"South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearization," reads the declaration signed by the leaders of the two countries, as cited by Yonhap.

“There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula, and a new age of peace has opened," the document adds.

The two sides also agreed to hold multi-party talks, involving the US and China, in their push for a full-scale truce. Pyongyang and Seoul are also to have high-level military talks in May.

In an ambitious statement after the signing ceremony, Kim said he hopes that the two Koreas will reunite. The states separated after WWII and have remained hostile since the Korean War ended with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, in 1953.

“Terminating the current state of the truce and establishing a firm peace regime is a historic task that [the two Koreas] can no longer delay," the leaders pointed out.

#News #Korea #NorthKorea #SouthKorea #Peace

North Korea declares state of war with South

 

North Koreans including soldiers attend a rally in support of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order to put its missile units on standby in preparation for a possible war against the U.S. and South Korea, in Pyongyang March 29, 2013.(Reuters / KCNA)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/north-korea-vicious-cycle-russia-072/

North Korea has entered a “state of war” against its Southern neighbor, stating that from now on any issues between the two countries will be resolved in a "wartime manner."

“From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly,” a special statement by the country’s top military command reads, according to the KCNA state news agency.

“The situation in the Korean Peninsula, which is neither peace nor war, has come to an end,” the statement says.

However, technically, the two Koreas are still in state of war since a peace treaty after the 1950-53 conflict had never been signed.

With North Korea placing its ballistic arsenal on high alert targeting American bases and the US tenaciously increasing military presence in the region, the whole situation risks “spiraling out of control” soon, warned Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Both North Korea and the US bear responsibility for the recent substantial escalation of tensions, Lavrov said on Friday, calling on “all sides not to flex their military muscle.”

"We are concerned that alongside the adequate, collective reaction of the UN Security Council, unilateral action is being taken around North Korea that is increasing military activity,”Lavrov added, apparently referring to US plans to boost missile defense against the North, the joint US-South Korean contingency plan in the event of an attack as well as their recent military drills.

In a noteworthy contrast to all the previous war games, this time American B-2 bombers flew over 10,000 kilometers to stage a mock bombing of Korean soil, in a move that US officials confirmed to be unprecedented.

Following this “reckless provocation” North Korean military command held an urgent overnight meeting during which the state’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un signed a decree placing the Strategic Rocket Force on standby.

“The situation could simply get out of control,” Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Friday, calling for a resumption of a six-party discussion of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal within the framework of country’s international obligations

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovmeeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Pesnya)

While N. Korea has firmly pledged to “settle accounts with the US imperialists” and “mercilessly strike the US mainland, their stronghold, their military bases” in case of any further provocations, US officials seemingly do not consider the threat to be as real as the democratic republic is trying to present it to be.

The threats towards the US are only hurting North Korea itself as well as its people, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.

“The bellicose rhetoric emanating from North Korea only deepens that nation's isolation,” Earnest said, adding that North’s unconditional renouncement of nuclear arms is the only clear path to resolve the situation.

Despite all the tensions, the United States is capable of defending its interests in the region, Earnest added.

Propaganda or serious threat?

Military experts agree that North Korea is at least several years from building a nuclear warhead or a missile capable of reaching the mainland US, which makes the threats, at this point, groundless.

However, a detailed plan of a nuclear strike on the US mainland can be clearly seen behind the North Korean leader on photos published in national newspaper. Such a demonstration of nuclear capabilities is likely aimed at an internal audience, in support of the idea of “sweeping away the US aggressors.”

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un discussing the strike plan with North Korean officers during an urgent operation meeting at the Supreme Command in an undisclosed location (AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS)

Nevertheless, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel admitted on Thursday that “every provocative, bellicose word and action” of Kim Jong-un has to be taken seriously.

Earlier this month Washington decided to address North Korea's faster-than-anticipated progress in nuclear weapons development, announcing that the US will have 14 missile interceptors up and running by 2017, even abandoning a key part of its Eastern European missile defense plan in order to curb the threat from North Korea.

Asian tigers move away from dollar

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (L), China's Premier Wen Jiabao (C) and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pose for photographs in front of their national flags ahead of the fifth trilateral summit among the three nations at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 13, 2012 (AFP Photo/Pool/Petar Kujundzic)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/business/news/asia-currencies-trade-union-279/

China, Japan and South Korea are taking further steps to replace the dollar in trade between them as the countries start negotiations on a free trade agreement, Vladimir Rozhankovsky, Head of Research at Nord Capital told RT.

The deal would be signed by the end of the year, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced during their Fifth Trilateral Summit in Beijing on May 13.

The countries have been mulling the idea of the union for several years. “China started negotiations on using national currencies in the region’s trade as early as in 2008, during the crisis as the country wanted to secure itself from probable default of the US dollar,” Rozhankovsky told RT.

In 2010 China and Japan agreed on trading some commodities in the yen and the yuan. “It took about two years to trial the idea of trade in the local currencies and now it’s time to follow up a success,” Rozhankovsky said.

The agreement is seen as a further step to ease off dollar dependency in international trade. This idea has been promoted by many countries and organizations in the recent years. In March BRICS countries agreed to provide credit to each other in local currencies. China has already agreed to switch to the local currencies in trade with Russia, although a memorandum on this has not yet been issued.

“The idea is in line with many interests and economic exigencies in the world economy,” Yaroslav Lissovolik, chief economist at Deutsche Bank told RT. “The euro and dollar are no longer seen as unquestionable monopolies in the role of reserve currencies. Clearly the world needs more reserve currencies.”

The agreement between China, Japan and South Korea won’t significantly influence global trade, but will bring advantages to the countries concerned, according to Rozhankovsky.

“The union will contribute to the growth of turnover of commodities and would also secure risks and cut exchange brokerages with the US dollar. The brokerage is usually less than 1% but it accounts for huge sums in international trade”.

The new union will be able to compete with the world's largest free-trade zones as China, Japan and South Korea account for 90% of the East Asian GDP and about 20% of the world’s GDP, following North America and the EU, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reports. Trade between the three countries amounted to $690 billion in 2011, which is 70% of East Asia’s total trade and 20% of world trade

Koreas launch missile threats against each other

A South Korean activist (C) wearing a mask of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un holds a mock missile during a rally denouncing North Korea's rocket launch and the three-generational dictatorship (AFP Photo / Jung Yeon-Je)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/pyongyang-seoul-threaten-destruction-450/

South Korea threatens Pyongyang’s strategic facilities with missiles, while the North promises to eliminate Seoul over an “insult” against its beloved leader. The standoff between the Koreas has not been so rabid since the war 60 years ago.

On Thursday South Korea announced it has deployed new cruise missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the North. Seoul most likely means the Hyunmu-3С cruise missile, which was announced as having entered production in 2010.

The previous versions Hyunmu-3A and Hyunmu-3B could cover 500- and 1,000-kilometer distances respectively. The new model reportedly has a range of 1,500 kilometers. If the data is correct, that means there is nowhere left in North Korea this missile cannot reach.

“With such capabilities, our military will sternly and thoroughly punish reckless provocations by North Korea while maintaining our firm readiness," Major General Shin Won-sik told South Korean Yonhap news agency.

On the Korean peninsula it is unacceptable to rattle a saber on just one side of the 38th parallel. Both Koreas are always ready to provide the opponent with a cause to curse their cousins.

Pyongyang is offended by Seoul’s “smearing” of the 100 anniversary celebrations of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation.

The central stage of the celebrations was the ill-fated launch of North Korea’s most advanced ballistic missile with a space satellite on April 13. The rocket exploded above sea after a couple of minutes of flight not far from the southern border with South Korea.

Though it did not reach space, the launch showed that at least it can reach any place in South Korea – and with a considerable payload, too.

Official Seoul could not resist the temptation to pique the northern neighbor, saying that Pyongyang’s technological achievement come in sharp contrast with the abject poverty and food shortages in the North.

South Korean conservative President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in Seoul in 2008, calculated that the $850 million cost of the unsuccessful launch could have bought 2.5 million tonnes of corn, which would eliminate the food shortage problem in the country for as long as six years.

This comparison infuriated Pyongyang that burst into angry statements.

"The puppet regime of traitors must apologize immediately for their grave crime of smearing our Day of Sun festivities," roared a government statement.

If Seoul does not “heed the voice of reason,” North Korea promised its military “will release their volcanic anger and stage a sacred war of retaliation to wipe out traitors on this land.” The North Korean army threatened Seoul, which is within its artillery range, with a “special action” that would be most destructive for the South Korean capital.

Still, the idea that Seoul would apologize is highly improbable, since the insult came from President Lee Myung-bak. The leader of the South has consistently been escalating pressure on Pyongyang, first by scrapping a near-unconditional aid policy to North Korea, then regularly conducting war games with the US military close to the North Korean border.

The memories of the 2010 incident with a South Korean warship destroyed by a powerful explosion are still fresh. Western experts accused a North Korean submarine of torpedoing the warship, killing 46 sailors, an accusation furiously denied by Pyongyang.

Artillery duels are not rare in the border area separating two Koreas. Each time an exchange of fire happens, both sides blame the opponent for provocations.

China violated UN arms embargo on N. Korea?

A demonstration of North Korea’s military might during celebrations in Pyongyang have not only aggravated the relations between the Koreas. A military parade of thousands of troops and as many as 900 pieces of weaponry in North Korea last weekend also put Beijing in an uncomfortable position.

Leading military journal IHS Jane's Defence Weekly noted that Pyongyang recklessly put on display an apparently new medium-range missile complex carried by 16-wheel transporter-erector-launcher.

Obviously, North Korea could not arrange a production of such vehicles from scratch, so all fingers are pointing at its northern neighbor China. It is no secret Beijing has been supporting the North Korean regime for decades. This time though, allegations against Beijing are considerably more serious: it is accused of supplying military technology to a regime under corresponding UN sanctions.

IHS Jane's Defence Weekly insists the 16-wheel transporter-erector-launcher apparently has a design originated from the Ninth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.

The journal reports that a group of experts of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee has started examination of the possible violation of sanctions against North Korea by China.

Previously accused of breaching UN sanctions with regard to Iran and North Korea, Beijing has always resolutely denied all allegations as unfounded.

North Korean rocket fails shortly after launch

In this file picture taken on April 8, 2012, the North Korean Unha-3 rocket is pictured at Tangachai-ri space center (AFP Photo/Pedro Ugarte)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/rocket-launch-north-korea-947/

A North-Korean carrier rocket took off at 7:39 am local time on Wednesday. However, the launch has been confirmed to have failed.

The North American Aerospace Defend Command (NORAD) says the first stage of the rocket fell into the sea, while the other two stages failed.

And a North Korean news agency has acknowledged that the country's satellite failed to enter orbit, and that scientists and technicians are searching for the cause of failure. Earlier the country's space agency said it had no information on the launch, according to South Korean media.

The South Korean army said the rocket debris crashed some 200 kilometers (125 miles) off the western coast of South Korea, Reuters reports.

Japanese Defense Minister Naiki Tanaka said the rocket appears to have flown for one minute before collapsing into the Yellow Sea

International reactions: launch 'provocative,' 'threatening'

The South Korean government condemned the launch in a statement by Foreign Minister Kim Sun-hwan. Kim said his country regards the launch as a provocative act that compromises the security of the region, and called on North Korea to assume full responsibility for the any consequences.

The G8 censures the launch and stresses that it violates three UN Security Council resolutions, a joint statement of G8 foreign ministers said.

The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the launch, with a possible response coming Friday.

The White House called the launch a provocative act in violation of international law.

“Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea's provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

Carney also noted that any missile activity by North Korea was of concern to the international community, and that the United States would remain “vigilant” and “fully committed” to the security of its allies in the region.

A White House official also said the launch was “part of a propaganda effort” that “clearly failed and will have ramifications internally.” He also said it would make prospective customers of North Korea think twice before buying its military equipment.

AP quotes an American official as saying the launch will cause a halt to planned US food aid to the country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked with her South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan by phone, promising to take “decisive” measures in response to the “provocative” launch, South Korean media quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.

Western governments considered North Korea’s plan to launch the Unha-3 rocket to be a disguised long-range ballistic missile test, while Pyongyang maintained that it was sending a weather satellite into space. The United States, Japan, Britain and others said the launch would constitute a provocation and would violate UN Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from developing its missile and rocket programs.

Concerns preceding the launch

Earlier in April, South Korea and Japan stated they would intercept the rocket if it flew over their territory, while the countries’ foreign ministers called on North Korea to abandon its plans for the launch altogether.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the launch would be in violation of UN Security Council 1874, which bars Pyongyang from conducting any launch, either for military or civilian purposes, using ballistic missile technology. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that North Korea could proceed with its space program after it complies with the resolution. The Russian military said it would bring down the rocket if went off track and headed towards Russia.

In March, North Korea announced it will launch an Unha-3 rocket carrying the Bright Star-3 satellite into orbit between April 12 and April 15, corresponding with celebrations of founder Kim Il Sung’s centennial. South Korea called the launch a “grave provocation” aimed at developing a long-range ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

Prior to the botched launch, there was speculation in the South Korean and Japanese media that the North would detonate an atomic device – its third such test. That scenario's quite possible if the North Korean leadership feels too pressured, believes Asia specialist Tim Beal.

“If there are fresh sanctions, if the Americans continue to refuse to negotiate properly with Pyongyang, then I suspect we will see another nuclear test,” he told RT.

North Korean military programs: Controversy over the years

North Korea’s rocket and nuclear programs have generated significant controversy in the past. In 1998, the country launched the Paektusan rocket, reportedly carrying the Bright Star-1 satellite into orbit. In 2002-2003, Pyongyang dismissed inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and quit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Months after publicly declaring it had nuclear weapons in early 2005, North Korea rejoined the NPT and said it would get rid of existing nuclear weapons and nuclear production facilities.

However, in 2006 the country detonated a nuclear device and launched seven missiles as part of two tests.

In 2009, North Korea launched an Unha-2 rocket carrying what it claims to be a Bright Star-2 satellite into orbit. South Korea and the US stated that it was in fact a ballistic missile test, while international space agencies said they could find no trace of the satellite, concluding that it had fallen into the Pacific Ocean. Later that year, the country launched seven short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan.

Japan mulls ignoring US oil ban on Iran

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (L) igreets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Both countries have expressed their intentions to disregard US-led sanctions on Iranian oil.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219634.html

Japan has become the latest country to hint at its intention to ignore US-led oil sanctions on Iran, after South Korea's recent dismissal of Washington's bid to boycott the Iranian crude.

"We are not considering banning imports," Japan Times quoted a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying on Friday.

On New Year's Eve, US President Barack Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against Iran's Central Bank in an apparent bid to punish foreign companies and banks that do business with the Iranian financial institution.

The bill aims to prevent refiners across the world from paying for Iran's oil. The European Union is also considering measures that would forbid its member states from importing the crude.

Iran's Central Bank has accounts at major Japanese banks for oil trade settlements. If US sanctions are implemented, the Japanese government may have to freeze those accounts. It means Japan's oil imports from Iran would "completely stop," a Finance Ministry official said, suggesting this is a situation the government wants to avoid.

Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi, who is due to meet with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during an upcoming Tokyo visit, is now expected to call for the exemption of Japanese banks from US penalties.

On Thursday, Japanese officials also expressed their concern about the possible negative global economic impact of increasing US and European pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

An official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said an embargo on Iranian oil would lead to a sharp rise in crude oil prices, adding that the US must consider the negative impact of such a development on the global economy.

Tokyo's wariness over any escalation of pressure on the Islamic Republic echoes South Korea's earlier announcement that it would purchase around 10 percent of its needed crude from Iran in 2012, exceeding Seoul's oil imports from Iran in 2011.

South Korea, which is the world's fifth largest oil importer, announced plans to buy 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude this year, a little more than the 190,000 bpd in 2011.

US sanctions, as well as unilateral embargoes imposed on Iran's energy and financial sectors by Britain and Canada came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on the Iranian nuclear program early in November, accusing Tehran of seeking to weaponize its nuclear technology.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military diversion, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and an IAEA member it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

South Koreans clash with police over base

Protesters clash with police in South Korea during a rally against the construction of a new naval base on Jeju Island, September 2, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197318.html

Protesters in South Korea have clashed with the country's riot police over the construction of a new naval base on the South Korean island of Jeju which will be open to US forces.

The protesters, who have occupied the site since June in order to prevent the construction, were joined by 300 activists and opposition party members who flew to the island, AFP reported.

Protesters allege that South Korea has bowed to pressure from the United States, which they say is eager to establish a military presence near China. Washington currently has nearly 28,500 troops in South Korea.

Damage to the environment is a concern of the protesters over the construction of the naval base as is the possibility of disputes with China over the American presence.

Police dispersed about 130 people on Friday and arrested 38 others. Protesters scuffled with the police, but no serious violence was reported.

After the police dispersed the crowd, engineers finished building a perimeter fence surrounding the construction site.

Local military officials say the USD 970-million project is vital for South Korea's national security.

Once completed in 2014, the base will host some 20 warships, including submarines.

Seoul started construction of the naval base in January near a village on the resort island's southern coast facing the South China Sea.

To date, about 14 percent of the construction has been completed.

North Korean leader in Russia for talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194860.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has arrived in Russia to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on various issues.

The North Korean leader will spend about a week in Russia to discuss energy cooperation, de-nuclearization and tensions with South Korea with Medvedev, AFP reported on Saturday.

A North Korean government source added that Kim will meet and confer with Medvedev in Ulan-Ude near Lake Baikal in Siberia on Tuesday.

This is Kim's first visit to Russia after about a decade since his previous public trip in 2002.

On Friday, Russia's foreign ministry said that 50,000 tons of grain will be sent to North Korea by the end of September.

Kim has already visited China three times seeking ways to alleviate the effect of devastating floods as well as the US-led economic sanctions on his country.

North Korea has called for the unconditional resumption of six-party talks involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and the United States over nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since November 2010 when an exchange of artillery fire left four South Koreans dead on a border island.

The North accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the country's government, insisting that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region.

US military to remain in Asia: Gates

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/182700.html

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says possible Pentagon budget cuts will not change Washington's role in Asia and the US military will remain in the Pacific.

The top US defense official, who is set to address a security conference in Singapore on the weekend, told reporters during a stop in Hawaii that America's budget deficit and military budget cuts would not affect the US presence in Asia.

“The critical message is that even as we look at potential budget reductions, there is no slackening of the US commitment to our presence in Asia,” AFP quoted Gates as saying on Wednesday.

“We are a Pacific nation, we will remain a Pacific nation, we will remain engaged,” he said, adding, “And we will continue to build relationships with friends, partners and allies in Asia.”

Earlier in November, in an official visit to Australia, Gates elaborated on Washington's plans to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, but denied that the move is a challenge to China.

The US defense secretary is scheduled to depart for Singapore on Wednesday to attend Singapore's defense summit.

Prior to delivering a speech to the conference on Saturday, Gates is due to meet with his regional counterparts including the defense ministers of China and Japan on Friday.

US, South Korea begin joint military drills

South Korea and the United States on Monday morning kicked of their annual joint military drills amid continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167427.html

The US and South Korean militaries have launched their major military drills despite North Korea's warnings that the exercises could lead to an "all-out war.”

The 11-day Key Resolve/Foal Eagle drills are the first regularly scheduled joint drills between Seoul and Washington since a North Korean artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, which left two South Korean marines and two civilians dead.

Pyongyang has denounced the drills as a provocative move and a pretext to invade North Korea, while the US and South Korean officials say the exercise is defensive in nature, AFP reported.

The exercises focus on raising the allies' ability to defend against small, sudden attacks by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said the Combined Forces Command, adding that the drills are aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness against all potential threats.

However, the North's military on Sunday threatened to retaliate against the drills with a full-scale military attack that would turn Seoul into a "sea of fire.”

"If the aggressors launch provocation for a 'local war', the world will witness unprecedented all-out counteraction on the part of the army and people of the DPRK (North Korea)," the North Korean military said.

"It will also see such merciless counteraction as engulfing Seoul in sea of flames, whereby to smash every move for confrontation with unimaginable strategy and tactics."

A total of 12,300 US troops and some 200,000 service members, including reservists from South Korea, will participate in the joint military drills, according to officials.

In 2010, tension on the Korean Peninsula reached its highest level since the 1950s' Korean War.

On March 2, the 1,200-ton South Korean warship, Cheonan, sank near the inter-Korea maritime border, resulting in the deaths of 46 South Korean sailors.

Though Seoul accuses Pyongyang of involvement in the sinking of its warship, the latter rejects the claim.

North, South Korea agree to hold talks

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162346.html

North and South Koreans are meeting "to seek ways to move forward together as a people while overcoming the grave situation which has divided them."

A group called the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland sought dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, influencing North Korea to make the first contact with its southern neighbor.

South Koreans have accepted the invitation and are expected to meet their Northern counterparts on February 11th.

The initial meeting is designed to set the time and agenda for high-level military dialogue between the two Asian countries.

Tensions between the North and South escalated when on November 23rd a South Korean island was bombed, killing four people, including two civilians.

Last March, Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing a warship, killing 46 people on board, a charge which the North denies.

South Korea set a precondition for any high-level meeting in that North Korea would need to take “responsible measures” over last year's attack and vow not to repeat them.

US and Japan have expressed their interest in the talks with hopes of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and later broadening multi-nation dialogue toward economic prosperity in the region.

“We've always stressed the importance of North-South dialogue as the necessary beginning of this process. So, I hope that the North takes advantage of this opportunity and demonstrates its sincerity," US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said.

Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara also pointed out that it is vital for the Seoul and Pyongyang to enter the dialogue.

"I believe that what is most important is that the North-South dialogue be opened up and also that in the tri-partite foreign ministers' meeting with regard to the 6-party talks and that the Chinese have been calling for, we would not reject that,” Maehara said.

China: No plans to send troops to North

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160530.html


China has denied reports that it plans to deploy troops in North Korea, saying Beijing will not send “a single soldier” to any country without the consent of the United Nations.

Beijing dismissed reports that it is in talks with Pyongyang on stationing Chinese troops over the border in South Korea, reported channelnewsasia.com.

"China will not send a single soldier to other countries without the approval of the UN," an official at the Chinese Defense Ministry, who refused to be named, was quoted as saying.

A South Korean newspaper on Saturday cited an official at the presidential Blue House as saying that Beijing and Pyongyang had discussed details of stationing Chinese soldiers in the North's city of Rason.

The anonymous official said the soldiers would protect China's port facilities in the city, and a senior security official was quoted as saying it would also allow China to intervene in case of North Korean instability.

Chinese troops have not been based in the North since 1994, when Beijing withdrew from the Military Armistice Commission that supervises the truce which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Chinese Defense Ministry official said there were only a few conditions under which Chinese troops could be stationed abroad, such as peacekeeping missions and disaster rescue efforts approved by the United Nations.

China to send troops to North Korea: Report

Chinese troops

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160227.html


China and North Korea are reportedly discussing details of a plan allowing Chinese army forces to be deployed in the communist country for the first time in about two decades.

Citing an anonymous official at the presidential Blue House, the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Saturday that the troops “would protect Chinese port facilities” in the Rason special economic zone near the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

"North Korea and China have discussed the issue of stationing a small number of Chinese troops to protect China-invested port facilities," the unnamed official told the newspaper.

"The presence of Chinese troops is apparently to guard facilities and protect Chinese nationals," the official added.

In 2008, Beijing was reportedly allowed to use a pier at Rason to secure its access to the Sea of Japan.

The Chinese troops, supervising a truce between the two Koreas after the 1950-53 Korean War, withdrew from the North in 1994.

Some officials believe the presence of troops will allow China to intervene in case of any instability in North Korea.

"The worst scenario China wants to avoid is a possibly chaotic situation in its northeastern provinces, which might be created by massive inflows of North Korean refugees," Seoul's International Security Ambassador Nam Joo-Hong was quoted as saying.

"Its troops stationed in Rason would facilitate China's intervention in case of contingencies in the North," he added.

The development comes amid strained relations between Seoul and Pyongyang caused by the exchange of deadly artillery fire on a border island in late November.

The United States and South Korea also recently staged a series of joint military maneuvers, which the North condemned as provocative and warned they could push the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.

Seoul rejects Pyongyang's talks offer

South Korea warns of a strong response to any form of military aggression from the North

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158865.html


South Korea has rejected a North Korean call for unconditional talks to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula, saying the offer was "propaganda."

"North Korea previously issued statements like this early in the year ... they are normally done as part of (a) propaganda campaign towards the South," a Unification Ministry official willing not to be identified said Thursday, Reuters reported.

Pyongyang's offer for talks was considered an empty gesture. "We do not consider this as a serious proposal for dialogue. It is not even in the correct and appropriate format," the informed official added.

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea announced that it was ready for an "unconditional and early opening of talks" with the South amid high tension on the peninsula.

The North's call for talks comes after the United States met Chinese and South Korean officials for talks about how to calm the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions have been high between the two Koreas since a deadly artillery exchange on an island last November.

Pyongyang said it shelled the area as a result of provocations by Seoul. South demands an apology after North Korea's deadly shelling of the island.

The crisis further deepened over rounds of joint military drills South Korea held with the United States despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's administration scrambles to respond to criticism that it was unprepared for the November 23 North Korean artillery attack.

Seoul warns of North's serious threat

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157827.html


Seoul's Defense Ministry says North Korea has boosted its special forces and deployed huge artillery guns and a new kind of tank close to the heavily fortified border.

“Threats from North Korea's asymmetric warfare capabilities - such as special forces, artillery pieces and weapons of mass destruction - have been on a steady rise since 2008,” South Korea's Deputy Defense Minister Chang Kwang Il was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The biennial report by the ministry signals that the North's military threat has expanded as it has an unspecified number of new powerful tanks prowling the border with the South.

Nearly 13,600 long-range artillery guns have been deployed along the Demilitarized Zone and are reportedly ready to launch attacks on Seoul, the report noted.

With a population of more than 10 million, Seoul is 30 kilometers away from the border.

According to the report, the North has also added 20,000 soldiers to its 18,000 special forces over the past two years.

Seoul claims the contingent of 200,000 special forces are trained to infiltrate into the South to carry out assassinations and disrupt sensitive facilities.

The report further added that the North intends to rely on its nuclear program as a counterweight to South Korea's high-tech military.

The news comes at a time tension is high between the two neighbors following an artillery fire exchange which left four Southerners dead last month.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's administration scrambles to respond to criticism that it was unprepared for a November 23 North Korean artillery attack

South Korea urges talks to disarm North Korea

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (C)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157704.html


South Korea has adopted a softer tone on North Korea's nuclear issue, calling for a revival of international talks with Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear program.

"(We) have no choice but to resolve the problem of dismantling North Korea's nuclear program diplomatically through the six-party talks," South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said as he received a 2011 policy report from the foreign ministry on Wednesday, AFP reported.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula after a November 23 artillery fire exchange which left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead. The incident turned many heads as it became the first shelling of a civilian area in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The crisis further deepened over rounds of joint military drills South Korea held with the United States despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.

While the North backed down on its threats in a change of tone, Russia and China are making efforts to resume talks with the North to further ease high tensions.

A US diplomat who visited Pyongyang this month said the North had agreed with the return of UN nuclear inspectors and to dispose of fuel rods outside the country.

Lee on Wednesday said the international community is pressed for time to denuclearize the North, which has set the 100th anniversary of founder Kim Il-Sung's birth in 2012 as the year to become a "great, powerful and prosperous" nation.

Therefore, we "should certainly achieve the dismantlement of its nuclear program next year," he insisted.

The North shut down its elderly plutonium-producing reactor in 2007 under a disarmament deal reached in six-party talks which involved the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the US. The talks failed in April 2009 following new inter-Korean tensions.

In October, Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment plant which US officials claimed could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium. But North Korea says its new plant is solely aimed at fueling a light-water reactor being built to produce energy.

South Korean President urges national unity

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157323.html


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has called for national unity and solidarity in the face of military threat from North Korea.

Lee said in a national radio address on Monday that division in the country would give the North another chance to attack, thus endangering the lives of South Korean people.

"We can't afford to have division of you against me in the face of national security, because what's at stake is our very lives and the survival of this nation," Reuters quoted Lee as saying.

"It is when we show solidarity as one that the North dares not challenge us. Their will to challenge breaks," he added.

Lee put an end to the decade-long free economic help given to the impoverished North as he took office in 2008.

However, he has come under severe criticism for indecisiveness and the military's soft reaction to North's artillery attack last month.

Tensions climbed in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea shelled South Korean Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, killing four people.

The North, however, insists that its shelling was in response to a military drill by the South.

South Korea to hold naval firing drills

The South Korean Navy MSB (Movement Sea Base) floats off the coast of Yeonpyeong Island

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157193.html


South Korea plans to hold a fresh round of naval firing drills at 23 locations around the Korean Peninsula, excluding areas near the disputed sea border with North Korea.

"This is part of a regular practice involving army, naval and air forces... and the state-run Agency for Defense Development will also conduct ammunition tests off the west coast," a spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP on Sunday.

The drills will be held around the Korean peninsula from December 27 to 31, the report added.

Last week, the South staged a live-fire artillery exercise on Yeonpyeong Island, lasting about two hours.

The maneuvers at a firing range in Pocheon, around 30 km from the inter-Korean border, involved more than 100 types of weapons.

Thursday also saw the second day of a three-day firing exercise by the South Korean navy in the Sea of Japan to the east of the peninsula, about 100 km south of the maritime border with North Korea.

The North did not retaliate despite earlier warnings.

In November, an artillery exchange between the two neighbors left four South Koreans dead on a border Island.

'Pyongyang's restraint prevented war'

A North Korean military unit of missile carriers during a military parade in Pyongyang (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157165.html


North Korea has prevented a devastating war from happening on the Korean Peninsula through its remarkable restraint measures, the country's newspapers say.

In a commentary on Saturday, the daily Minju Choson wrote that a military conflict and an all-out war had been prevented by the peace-loving Democratic People's Republic of Korea thanks to the great restraint it has shown so far.

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said it was only because of Pyongyang's desire for peace that the military provocation of the United States and South Korea had not led to a war.

The paper also urged the South Korean authorities not to believe North Korea is too "weak" to launch a counterattack.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is closely watching over the moves of the warmongers," Rodong Sinmun wrote.

On December 20, the South Korean military held a live-fire artillery drill in the Yellow Sea one month after North Korea's deadly attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

Two South Korean marines and two construction workers were killed on November 23 when North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto the small island.

The attack set more than 60 houses ablaze and sent civilians fleeing in terror.

Seoul said that it will engage in active diplomacy with the US, China, and countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula to seek punitive action against Pyongyang for the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

Seoul is still technically at war with Pyongyang since the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

North Korea ready for 'sacred war'

A military parade in North Korea, file photo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156875.html


North Korea has threatened to wage a 'sacred war' with the South using its nuclear deterrent, warning that military exercise conducted in the Yellow Sea are a preparation for war.

"The South Korean puppet forces perpetrated such grave military provocation as renewing their shelling against the DPRK [North Korea] during their recent exercises for a war of aggression in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] of Korea," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency quoted North Korea's Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong-chun as saying on Thursday.

The remarks came after Seoul held the war game early Thursday in the Pocheon region, between the South Korean capital Seoul and the heavily armed de-Militarized zone separating the two Koreas.

"This indicates that the enemy's scenario for aggression aimed at the start of another Korean War, has reached the phase of its implementation," Kim added.

"The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK are getting fully prepared to launch a sacred war of justice of Korean style based on the nuclear deterrent at anytime necessary to cope with the enemies' actions deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war."

North Korea also issued a statement on Thursday calling the drills "provocative'' and "offensive.''

This is while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak toured a border outpost and vowed a powerful response if provoked again by North Korea, suggesting that was the path toward peace, a Press TV correspondent reported.

While Pyongyang, which claims ownership of nearby waters, considers the military exercises as an infringement of its territory, Seoul says the drills are defensive.

In recent months, the United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions climbed in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea shelled South Korean Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, killing four people. The North, however, insists that its shelling was in response to a live-fire drill by the South.