S. Korea Holds War Drills with U.S.
The New York Times reports:
The United States and South Korea began planned naval exercises on Sunday that were meant as a warning to North Korea for recent provocations, including last week’s deadly artillery attack on a island populated by South Koreans in the Yellow Sea.
The announcement of the drills last week angered both North Korea and its patron, China, stirring intense speculation in the South Korean news media of whether the North would respond violently.
China had warned late last week against “any military act” in its exclusive economic zone without permission, but virtually all the waters to the west of the Korean Peninsula fall within that 200 nautical mile limit. It was not immediately clear Sunday if American and South Korean ships had sailed into that area.
On Saturday, China stepped up its diplomatic efforts to cool the situation on the Korean peninsula, sending a senior diplomatic official to Seoul and conducting telephone diplomacy with Russia and Japan.
The state counselor in charge of foreign affairs, Dai Bingguo, on Saturday night made a previously unannounced visit to Seoul and met South Korea’s foreign minister, Kim Sung-hwan, according to statements by the Chinese and South Korean foreign ministries. The two conferred about the situation on the peninsula, according to the statements, which did not provide further details.
Also on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi telephoned his counterparts in Japan and Russia, according to a separate statement on the website. The two countries, along with China, the United States and the two Koreas are the countries involved in "six-party talks" aimed at stabilizing the peninsula but which have been suspended.
The flurry of diplomacy followed days of recriminations by both Koreas. On Saturday, North Korea accused South Korea of using civilians as human shields around military bases on the island. The accusation is apparently an effort to redirect South Korean outrage over the barrage, which killed two civilian construction workers and two South Korean marines.
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency also issued new warnings about the naval exercises off its shores, which included an American aircraft carrier.
“If the U.S. brings its carrier to the West Sea of Korea at last, no one can predict the ensuing consequences,” the report said, using the Korean name for the Yellow Sea.
On Saturday, South Korea’s prime minister and other dignitaries attended a large funeral for the two South Korean marines who were killed in the attack on Yeonpyeong Island. The commander of South Korea’s marines, Lt. Gen. Yoo Nak-joon, vowed to avenge the deaths a “thousandfold.”
“We will put our feelings of rage and animosity in our bones and take our revenge on North Korea,” he said.
South Koreans have also lashed out at President Lee Myung-bak for what many here see as the military’s failure to make more than a token response to Tuesday’s attack. While the North fired about 180 artillery shells during its hourlong fusillade, Yeonpyeong Island’s marine garrison responded with only 80 shells, according to the local media.
On Thursday, President Lee announced changes in the military’s rules of engagement to make it easier for South Korea to strike back with force, especially if civilians are threatened.
Click here to read more.
