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북한이 전투근무태세를 낮추고 무수단 미사일 2기를 동해안 발사대에서 철수시켰다고 군 정보통이 밝혔다.
연합뉴스는 7일 고위 관계자의 발언을 인용, “북한군 최고사령부가 지난 3월 말 발령한 1호 전투근무태세를 4월 30일경 해제한 것으로 보인다”고 보도하며 “동해안에서 철수시킨 무수단 미사일 2기의 정확한 위치는 파악되지 않았다”고 전했다.
이와 관련, 미국 CNN 방송도 6일(현지시간) 익명의 미 정부 관계자를 인용해 미사일이 다른 발사대로 옮겨지지 않은 것으로 보인다고 보도했다. 하지만 무수단이 이동식 미사일인만큼 다른 지점으로 이동해 발사할 가능성도 배제할 수 없다고 덧붙였다.
이를 두고 국방부 대변인은 정례브리핑에서 “북한의 미사일 움직임은 지금 계속 추적하고 있고, 자세한 내용은 공개하기 곤란하다”고 밝혔다. 우리 군 당국은 평시보다 한 단계 격상된 현재 군사대비태세를 당분간 유지하기로 했다.
김정은 북한 국방위원회 제1위원장은 핵 잠수함과 첨단 무기를 동원한 한미 연합 독수리 훈련에 앞서 대남 위협 수위를 크게 높이며 지난달 초 무수단 미사일 2기를 탑재한 이동식 발사 차량과 노동•스커드 미사일 차량 7대를 강원도 원산과 함경남도에 있는 비행장에 전개한 바 있다.
북한이 위협수위를 눈에 띄게 낮추며 대화의 문고를 열 준비를 하고 있다는 전망이 조심스럽게 나오고 있지만, 한미 연합 서해 포사격 훈련과 함께 긴장 국면이 짙어질 가능성도 있다.
한•미 군 당국은 6일부터 대잠수함 훈련에 돌입했으며 10일을 전후해 연합해상훈련을 실시할 예정이다. 이를 두고 북한군 서남전선사령부는 7일 중앙통신을 통해 “적들의 도발적인 포 사격으로 우리측 영해에 단 한발의 포탄이라도 떨어지는 경우 즉시적인 반타격적에 진입할 것”이라고 경고했다.
한미 연합 훈련에는 양측 해군의 이지스 구축함과 미 핵 추진 항공모함 니미츠호(9만 7천t급) 등이 참가할 전망이다. (코리아 헤럴드 신현희 기자/번역 이상주)
<관련 영어 기사>
N.K. lifts top combat posture; seen pulling out mid-range missiles
By Shin Hyon-hee
North Korea appears to have lifted its highest combat alert and pulled out two mid-range missiles from the east coast in a move that defused tension after weeks of warlike threats, reports said Tuesday.
“The Supreme Command of the (North) Korean People’s Army appears to have removed the No. 1 combat-ready posture around April 30,” a senior government official was quoted by Yonhap News as saying on condition of anonymity.
“We are not able to precisely locate the two Musudan missiles that have been moved to somewhere else from the eastern shore,” the source said, adding that South Korean and U.S. intelligence is closely tracking them.
CNN earlier reported that the missiles were sent to a storage facility, citing a U.S. official.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry declined to confirm. “Our military has consistently been tracking North Korean ballistic missiles that were deployed on the east coast,” spokesman Kim Min-seok told a regular briefing.
The reports marked the latest in a series of steps to cool the heat on the peninsula after a weeks-long deluge of North Korean threats of nuclear war.
They also coincide with the first summit between President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, where they reaffirmed a united response to the bellicose regime’s saber-rattling while leaving the door open to dialogue.
Leader Kim Jong-un is seen to be focusing on the economy and the people’s livelihoods by visiting a brand-new community center and watching a football game, instead of inspecting front-line units and carrying out other military-related activity,
In late March, the young ruler placed its military and artillery units on top alert and strategic rocket forces on standby, threatening to strike South Korea, the U.S. mainland and its Pacific bases such as Hawaii and Guam.
Then the communist state relocated to the east coast its transporter-erector-launchers for short- and mid-range missiles, which were believed to be technically ready for test-firing.
The measures came in retaliation for what Pyongyang called atomic war games of the allies -- joint military drills involving a nuclear submarine, bombers and stealth jets.
Despite the perceived change in the mood, tension may escalate again as Seoul and Washington are engaged in another round of annual military exercises until Friday with a nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarine and two Aegis-equipped destroyers.
The North immediately slammed the drill, vowing to turn five South Korean border islands in the West Sea into a “sea of fire” if a single shell falls in its waters. (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
N.K. lifts top combat posture; seen pulling out mid-range missiles
By Shin Hyon-hee
North Korea appears to have lifted its highest combat alert and pulled out two mid-range missiles from the east coast in a move that defused tension after weeks of warlike threats, reports said Tuesday.
“The Supreme Command of the (North) Korean People’s Army appears to have removed the No. 1 combat-ready posture around April 30,” a senior government official was quoted by Yonhap News as saying on condition of anonymity.
“We are not able to precisely locate the two Musudan missiles that have been moved to somewhere else from the eastern shore,” the source said, adding that South Korean and U.S. intelligence is closely tracking them.
CNN earlier reported that the missiles were sent to a storage facility, citing a U.S. official.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry declined to confirm. “Our military has consistently been tracking North Korean ballistic missiles that were deployed on the east coast,” spokesman Kim Min-seok told a regular briefing.
The reports marked the latest in a series of steps to cool the heat on the peninsula after a weeks-long deluge of North Korean threats of nuclear war.
They also coincide with the first summit between President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, where they reaffirmed a united response to the bellicose regime’s saber-rattling while leaving the door open to dialogue.
Leader Kim Jong-un is seen to be focusing on the economy and the people’s livelihoods by visiting a brand-new community center and watching a football game, instead of inspecting front-line units and carrying out other military-related activity,
In late March, the young ruler placed its military and artillery units on top alert and strategic rocket forces on standby, threatening to strike South Korea, the U.S. mainland and its Pacific bases such as Hawaii and Guam.
Then the communist state relocated to the east coast its transporter-erector-launchers for short- and mid-range missiles, which were believed to be technically ready for test-firing.
The measures came in retaliation for what Pyongyang called atomic war games of the allies -- joint military drills involving a nuclear submarine, bombers and stealth jets.
Despite the perceived change in the mood, tension may escalate again as Seoul and Washington are engaged in another round of annual military exercises until Friday with a nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarine and two Aegis-equipped destroyers.
The North immediately slammed the drill, vowing to turn five South Korean border islands in the West Sea into a “sea of fire” if a single shell falls in its waters. (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
