North Korea threatened Thursday to turn Seoul's presidential office into a "sea of fire," one day after South Korea conducted large-scale military drills near a front-line island attacked by North Korea last year.
The exercises marked the first anniversary of North Korea's artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong that killed two marines and two civilians.
The North's military warned in a statement Thursday that "a similar sea of fire" may engulf Seoul's presidential Blue House if South Korean forces ever fire a single shot into North Korea's territory. The warning was carried by North Korean state media.
Pyongyang blamed Seoul for provoking the attack last year, saying it struck after warning the South not to carry out live-fire drills in waters that both Koreas claim as their territory.
South Korea's drills this week involved aircraft, rocket launchers and artillery guns and took place off Baengnyeong Island, another front-line territory near the disputed maritime border. Officials said they were meant to send a strong message to North Korean rivals stationed within sight just miles (kilometers) away. No live-fire activities took place.
The North Korean military threat comes despite recent signs that animosities between the rival Koreas are easing, with diplomats seeking to resume North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that he was sorry North Korea has not yet apologized for the shelling, according to his office. He also said he expects Pyongyang to apologize if North Korea wants to improve relations between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war because their 1950s conflict ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-11-23/North-Korea-South-Korea-military/51377434/1
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기