Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The North Korean government this morning announced that it will scrap an agreement aimed at preventing accidental naval clashes with South Korea in the Yellow Sea, North Korea’s KCNA news agency reported quoting a top officer in the North Korean People’s Army. The chairman of the North Korean Chiefs of Staff warned South Korea’s armed forces of a swift attack should their troops violate the line between the two Koreas.
The statement is the latest step in escalating tensions between the two Korean states. Yesterday Pyongyang broke off bilateral relations with Seoul, issuing new military threats against South Korea.
The new crisis between the two states, divided since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), was caused last week after an international probe determined that ROKN corvette Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo. The incident killed 46 South Korean soldiers.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday reiterated US support for South Korea. As well as calling on the Security Council of the United Nations to impose fresh sanctions on North Korea, she said that Pyongyang would pay for the sinking of the corvette. Clinton also urged the North to stop its provocations and threats. Japan did the same.
Uncertainty still surrounds China’s position. As North Korea’s only political sponsor and economic partner, Beijing called for prudence and dialogue.
Tomorrow, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao will be in Seoul for a three-way meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Unlike Seoul and Tokyo, Beijing has not condemned Pyongyang, for now.
Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun yesterday repeated a call for “restraint” by both sides, saying that China could not condemn North Korea because it had no “firsthand information” on the sinking.
“North Korea is dying, and we can make things worse,” said Shen Dingli, vice dean of the Institute of International Affairs at Shanghai’s Fudan University. “We have assumed North Korea is not a rational actor.”
In the end, the fall of North Korea would be a problem for the whole region.
