N. Korea ups tension with new threats

North Korea yesterday attempted to further escalate tension on the peninsula by threatening to retaliate on possible attacks on its satellite launch which Seoul and Washington believe to be a disguise for test-firing a long-range missile.

It also cut off military communication lines with the South, thereby severing all channels of inter-Korean dialogue.

U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth said he "regrets" the North`s decision.

"Obviously, this is something that we regret. We think that improved communications between South and North Korea must in the longer run be a key component of the six-party effort to reduce tension and to bring about the denuclearization of the peninsula," Bosworth told reporters after holding a series of meetings with South Korean officials.

He also stressed that inter-Korean dialogue remains key to the six-party talks.

Pyongyang`s latest saber-rattling moves came in protest of a two-week joint U.S.-South Korean military drill - Key Resolve and Foal Eagle - that started yesterday.

The Unification Ministry yesterday called for Pyongyang to "immediately restore" the military lines, citing related inter-Korean agreements.

"We need North Korea to reopen those lines and also guarantee entrance and communication in Gaeseong Industrial Complex and Mount Geumgang," Kim Ho-nyoun, the ministry spokesman, said in a press briefing.

The government also expressed concerns about the 650 or so South Koreans who remain stranded in either venue because they have failed to receive passes.

The North said the military lines will remain dead until the joint drill ends March 20.

Tours to Gaeseong and Mount Geumgang have been suspended, but South Koreans continue to visit the area mostly for business purposes.

Earlier in the day, North Korea said it would "retaliate" if anyone tries to shoot down the satellite in plans to soon launch. The North also severed the military communication lines, which stood as the last official channel of dialogue between the two Koreas.

Further, Pyongyang ordered its military to be combat-ready as another Korean War may break out due to the allies` drill. The communist state accuses the allies of scheming a preemptive attack on the North with drill, despite continued reassurances from Seoul and the U.S. troops here that it is a defense-oriented exercise.

Pyongyang last week made an unprecedented move saying it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean commercial airliners traveling in the North Korean airspace.

"We do need to watch carefully because while the warnings on allied drills are the norm, the North has been really pushing the envelope," said Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

The military yesterday said it is on alert for possible attempts at aggression from the North.

"We believe it to be part of the North`s political rhetoric, but we`re making full preparations in case the threat turns out to be true," said Won Tae-jae, the Defense Ministry spokesman.

Seoul and Washington has so far assumed a coordinated, hawkish stance on the North regarding the satellite launch, as they believe to be a long-range missile.

Seoul, Washington and Japan have said the launch, whether it is a satellite or missile, would be violating the United Nations Resolution 1718. China, albeit shying away from directly criticizing the North, also has been urging Pyongyang to refrain from the test-fire.

The North has been steadily upping the military tension in the peninsula in what many interpret to be moves to grab the Barack Obama administration`s attention to get the upper hand in future nuclear negotiations. The six-nation talks have been halted since December last year after the North and the United States failed to agree on a nuclear verification protocol.

Relations with the South has remained hostile as well, with the North showing strong resentment toward President Lee Myung-bak`s "pragmatic" approach emphasizing both the stick and the carrot.

The Lee administration has said it remains committed to dialogue, but called on the North to first abandon its smear campaign towards Seoul. The government stressed that it has already made the first move in engaing the North for talks, and that it is now up to Pyongyang to reciprocate.

By Kim Ji-hyun



(jemmie@heraldm.com)