News / Asia

N. Korea, S. Korea Hold Live Artillery Drills, as Tensions Mount

In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 14, 2013,  by the Korea News Service, a rocket launcher is fired during a live drill by the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment and the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment.
In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 14, 2013, by the Korea News Service, a rocket launcher is fired during a live drill by the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment and the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment.
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VOA News
Both South and North Korea have held a series of live-five artillery drills as tensions between the two nations mount over Pyongyang's threat to end non-aggression pacts with Seoul.

South Korean and U.S. military forces held a series of joint exercises Thursday as part of an ongoing training operation.

Meanwhile, South Korean Prime Minister Jeong Hong-Won said his country will respond sternly to any attacks from the North.

Prime Minister Jeong spoke Thursday while visiting the western border island of Yeonpyeong to inspect its preparedness to respond to any type of provocation from the North.

The island was the site of a 2010 North Korean artillery attack that left two civilians dead.

Also Thursday, North Korean state media report that leader Kim Jong Un recently watched a live-fire drill by artillery units on two islands in the Yellow Sea. The reports did not specify when the drill took place.

North Korea has threatened a nuclear war against the United States and made a series of threats against the South after the United Nations last week imposed sanctions for its latest nuclear test.

It is not believed to have the capacity to attack the U.S. with a nuclear weapon. But there is fear it may attack areas near the disputed border, which has been the site of several deadly clashes in recent years.

Pyongyang already claims to have scrapped an armistice agreement that ended the Korean war in 1953, although U.N. and South Korean officials say this cannot be done unilaterally.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged North Korea to take "confidence-building measures" aimed at diffusing tensions, such as ending its nuclear and missile testing.

In an interview Wednesday with the U.S. television network ABC,  Obama said countries will reciprocate if they see any kind of responsible behavior from North Korea.  He said Pyongyang has yet to display that type of behavior.

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by: musawi melake
March 14, 2013 1:04 PM
Ok, looking forward to Korean war-II to see more actions, both by the US and the Chinese, who are not going to sit idle. We will see whether the Free-Masons founded civilisation, after anihilating the native people, or the thousands of years old Chinese are superior. Any such war should put an end to the "The land of the Free Masons'" hegomoney.


by: JKF from: Ottawa, Canada
March 14, 2013 11:37 AM
NKorea continues its agressive preparations. I hope that SKorea is keeping a good vigil on all aspects of NKorean movements, including such details as food/water/ distribution of supplies; movement of reservers from Northern areas; auxiliary road desnowing/resurfacing, increased train activities, and communication density increases accross/behind border areas; resupply and movement of ships, increased industrial activity(power lines temp/discharges/effluents), increases in temp on ground areas (tunnels/storage areas).. ..etc.

Given all the NKorean talk, as reported in the media, in my opinion they have boxed themselves into having no choice but to, at best, take some limited military action.... And as usual, they will probably do something new/different. China may be able to persuade them to stand down, if it shows some action beyond just words; like restricting/stopping border land and or air traffic. It is a bad situation for SKorea and its allies.