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Old 11-26-2010, 11:14 AM
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Exclamation N Korea stages artillery drill, warns of war

North Korea has staged an artillery firing drill in the Yellow Sea and warned that US-South Korean naval exercises planned for the weekend will bring the peninsula closer to war.

Tensions are running high after the North's bombardment of Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday killed four people, injured 18 and set buildings and forests ablaze.

The sound of fresh rounds of artillery emanating from North Korea led to fears of a fresh attack and sent South Koreans who remain on the island running to air raid shelters.

The South Korean government, however, said this seemed to be a training exercise and that no shells landed on its territory.

A defence ministry spokesman said explosions were heard several times and that about 20 shells had apparently landed on the North's side near the disputed border in the Yellow Sea.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd has told Channel Ten there does not appear to be cause for alarm at this stage.

"It appears to be live firing within North Korea - practice rounds - but that's just what we've deduced so far," he said.

"Everyone should just take a deep breath and we'll get all the facts sorted out. But it seems to be live firing within North Korea, not across."

Earlier yesterday, North Korea warned that this weekend's planned war games by the South and the United States would push the region towards war.

A US aircraft carrier battle group is heading for the Yellow Sea for the four-day drill starting on Sunday, a show of force designed to deter the North after Tuesday's strike rang alarm bells worldwide.

But the North, unrepentant over its earlier barrage, criticised "the US imperialists and South Korean puppet war-like forces" for what it called an exercise in "sabre-rattling".

"The situation on the Korean peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements to stage again the war exercises targeted against the (North)," its official news agency said.

Pyongyang has used such language frequently in the past.

It is unclear whether it will take any measures to try to disrupt the drill, which has also been criticised by the North's sole major ally, China.

The US military says the exercise is defensive and was planned well before the North's "unprovoked artillery attack", but it demonstrates the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence".

The North has said its firing Tuesday was retaliation after South Korea had fired shells into its waters during an exercise.

Political fallout


But Seoul is grappling with the domestic political fallout of Tuesday's attack, with defence minister Kim Tae-Young resigning over criticism the South's response had been too weak.

Its new defence minister is ex-chairman of joint chiefs, Kim Kwan-Jin.
The South fired 80 shells at the North's coastal artillery positions on Tuesday, but says it did not call in air strikes to avoid escalating the situation.

The US military commander in South Korea, General Walter Sharp, has toured Yeonpyeong Island, taking in the severely damaged streets and houses.

He says North Korea has clearly violated the armistice agreement drawn up after the Korean War in the 1950s.

"We and the United Nations command will investigate this completely and will call on North Korea to stop any future attacks," he said.

World powers are struggling to draw up a response to the recent actions by the North Korean regime, that has in recent years staged two nuclear tests and fired long-range missiles.

It is also accused of sinking a South Korean warship in March, resulting in the loss of 46 lives, a charge it denies.

Many observers believe the attack was meant to highlight the military credentials of heir apparent Kim Jong-un, youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il.

- ABC/AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...26/3077856.htm
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  #2  
Old 11-27-2010, 07:26 AM
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The NK blames SK for the civilian deaths caused by the shelling because SK is using them as human shields to protect their military installations.

Rationalization gone mad.
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