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South Korea says North is denying workers entry to joint-Korean Kaesong complex amid tensions on the peninsula.
Last Modified: 03 Apr 2013 11:38
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| North Korea has banned the entry of South Koreans to a joint industrial complex in a rare move amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula, the South's Unification Ministry said. Wednesday's move sparked fears the North could carry out its threatened shutdown of the complex as part of a standoff with Washington and Seoul. "The North this morning notified us that it will only allow returning trips from Kaesong and will ban trips to the complex," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk told reporters. Kim said the North had not specified how long the ban would remain in effect. The ministry said 861 South Korean workers are in the industrial complex while 179 workers await entry. Border crossings for Kaesong, which lies 10km inside North Korea, have been functioning normally despite soaring tensions in recent weeks between the North and the South. South Korea's defence ministry said on Wednesday it had contingency plans, including possible military action, to ensure the safety of its citizens working in the joint industrial zone. "We have prepared a contingency plan, including possible military action, in case of a serious situation," Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin told ruling party MPs in a meeting. 'Cash cow' Responding the latest developments, a Chinese official met ambassadors from the United States and both Koreas to express "serious concern" about the situation on the Korean peninsula, China's Foreign Ministry said. Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from the South Korean capital, said that historically, "even in the most serious of crises Kaesong has remained opened and remained operational." A major "cash cow" for Pyongyang, Kaesong brings in $90m annually in wages to 53,000 North Korean workers, he said. The operating stability of the complex is seen as a bellwether of inter-Korean relations, and its closure would mark a clear escalation of tensions beyond all the military rhetoric. A shut down of the plant, said our correspondent, would mean "a real deterioration in relations between the two countries." The latest move comes after North Korea said on Tuesday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce bomb-grade plutonium in a standoff that has seen Washington shift military resources into South Korea. Pyongyang has been ramping up its threats since it was hit by international sanctions following its third nuclear test earlier this year. |
Source:
Al Jazeera And Agencies
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Comment
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-02/last-symbol-inter-korea-cooperation-falls-north-bans-south-gaeseong
"Last Symbol Of Inter-Korea Cooperation" Falls As North Bans South From Gaeseong
While the world twiddles it thumbs, buys stocks, and ignores any and every risk, tensions continue to mount on Korea. Bloomberg is reporting that:
- *N. KOREA BANS S. KOREANS FROM ENTERING GAESEONG, S. KOREA SAYS
- *N. KOREA ENTRY BAN HINDERS 'STABLE OPERATION' OF GAESEONG: KIM
- *S.KOREA SAYS N. KOREA GAESEONG ENTRY BAN IS 'EXTREMELY SERIOUS'
The city of Gaeseong, due to its situation on the border, hosts cross-border economic exchanges ($2bn per year in trade for the impoverished North) between the two countries and is seen as "the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation." In light of this, perhaps it is no surprise that the WSJ reports, the U.S. positioned a ship capable of shooting down ballistic missiles near the Korean peninsula amid South Korea demands that the military should "make a strong and swift response in initial combat without any political considerations."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/03/us-korea-north-china-idUSBRE93207R20130403
China expresses "serious concern" over Korean peninsula
BEIJING |
(Reuters) - A Chinese diplomat has met ambassadors from the United States and both Koreas to express "serious concern" over the situation on the Korean peninsula, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, following a spike in tension.
"Yesterday afternoon, Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui met the ambassadors of North and South Korea and the United States and expressed serious concern about the present situation on the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a daily briefing.
"In the present situation, China believes all sides must remain calm and exercise restraint and not take actions which are mutually provocative and must certainly not take actions which will worsen the situation," he said.
North Korea has threatened a nuclear strike on the United States and missile attacks on its Pacific bases after new U.N. sanctions were imposed for the country's third nuclear weapons test in February. It has also said it was in a state of war with South Korea.
In response, the United States has bolstered its forces in the region. Extra deployments have also coincided with annual military exercises with South Korea, which North Korea says are a prelude to an invasion.
North Korea on Wednesday closed access to a joint factory zone that earns $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished state.
China hopes all sides can resolve that issue through talks, Hong said.
China has long been accustomed to living with the North as an unpredictable neighbor, which acts as a bulwark against the United States.
But the unusual move to meet all three ambassadors suggests China is growing uneasy with the tension on its doorstep.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/raptor-north-korea/
Those U.S. Stealth Jets Haven’t Actually Flown Near North Korea Yet
- 04.01.13
- 11:53 AM
An F-22 Raptor prepares to go to South Korea, July 2010. Photo: U.S. Air Force
As North Korea ratchets up its apocalyptic rhetoric, the U.S. military has sent advanced warplanes to a big training exercise with South Korea, including its premier stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor. Only the Pentagon clarified today that the jets haven’t actually flown yet.
Two F-22 Raptors are on “static display” at the Osan air base south of Seoul, Pentagon spokesman George Little said. Outside of the flight on Sunday from Japan’s Kadena air base, first reported by theWall Street Journal, the jets have yet to take part in the U.S.-South Korea exercise Foal Eagle, which will continue until the end of April.
The Raptors were previously scheduled to join the exercise, Little said, but their presence on the Korean Peninsula comes as North Korea has acted increasingly erratically since its latest nuclear detonation. An official statement over the weekend threatened a “do-or-die battle” with the United States, following the release of a photograph seeming to show Pyongyang’s leadership targeting the continental U.S. with long-range ballistic missiles it does not possess.
Still, the F-22 deployment for Foal Eagle comes after B-2 and B-52 bombers also flew over the Korean peninsula as part of the exercise, and after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel added 14 missile interceptors to Alaska to blunt Pyongyang’s threats. In the event of an actual conflict on the Korean peninsula, the stealthy F-22s could escort the bombers or open fire on the North’s air defense stations. Check out this Aviatonist post for a good overview of what the F-22s could provide in what would amount to its combat debut. But it’s worth remembering that the current deployment is the F-22′s fourth trip to South Korea.
Little said the F-22 deployment was “all about alliance assurance” to South Korea and Japan, showing that the U.S. has their backs.
“The North Koreans have a choice,” he said. “They can continue to engage in provocations, with bellicose, overheated, irresponsible rhetoric, or they can pursue the path of peace. They’ve been pursuing the path of provocation, and we think it’s time for them to switch lanes.”
Little declined to say when the F-22s might get into the air as part of the Foal Eagle exercise — and he didn’t rule out sending additional advanced hardware to the Korean peninsula in the coming weeks.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/02/296235/us-sends-another-warship-to-korean-coast/
US deploys second destroyer closer to North Korea coast
USS John McCain, an Aegis-class guided-missile destroyer (file photo)
Tue Apr 2, 2013 11:31PM GMT
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The United States says it has deployed a second guided-missile destroyer in the Pacific to waters off the Korean Peninsula as tensions mount with North Korea.
On Monday, US defense officials said that the USS John McCain was being positioned to operate off the Korean Peninsula.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman George Little said the McCain had arrived at a "pre-determined location" in the western Pacific.
Little also said that the USS Decatur, another destroyer, had also been deployed in the western Pacific "to perform a missile defense mission as assigned by our combatant commander."
"They (the McCain and the Decatur) will be poised to respond to any missile threats to our allies or our territory," he added.
On Monday, it was reported that the USS Fitzgerald would be sent to waters off the Korean Peninsula, but the destroyer was only among the ships under consideration for the deployment. Finally, the Fitzgerald was not sent to the area.
On Sunday, the United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea as part of military exercises with the Southeast Asian country.
On Saturday, Pyongyang announced that it is in a “state of war” with South Korea, warning that any provocation by Seoul and Washington will trigger an all-out nuclear war.
Pyongyang said henceforth “the North-South relations will be entering a state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly."
"The long-standing situation of the Korean Peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over," said a statement issued jointly by the government, political parties and other organizations.
Pyongyang also warned that if Washington and Seoul launched a preemptive attack, the conflict "will not be limited to a local war, but develop into an all-out war, a nuclear war."
Last week, North Korea said that its military should be prepared to attack "all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii, and Guam" and South Korea.
The announcement came days after South Korea and the US signed a new military pact in response to what they called even low-level provocations by Pyongyang.
On March 11, Seoul and Washington launched a week-long annual joint military maneuver near the Korean Peninsula despite warnings from Pyongyang. The maneuver involved 10,000 South Korean soldiers and about 3,000 US troops.
GJH/AS
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/30/russia-us-north-korea-restraint
Russia urges US and North Korea to show restraint
'We hope that all parties will exercise maximum responsibility,' says Russian foreign ministry as tensions continue to rise
Email
North Korean soldiers seen from across the border in China. Photograph: Feature China / Barcroft Media
Russia has urged the US and North Korea to show restraint after Pyongyang said it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea in a further escalation of its bellicose rhetoric.
"We hope that all parties will exercise maximum responsibility and restraint and no one will cross the point of no return," said senior Russian foreign ministry official Grigory Logvinov on Saturday.
On Friday the Pentagon declared that the US was flly capable of defending itself and its allies against a missile attack from North Korea, whose leader, Kim Jong-un, had declared that rockets were ready to be fired at American bases in the Pacific. Kim's words came in response to the US flying two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula this week.
On Saturday, a spokesman for the Foreign Office warned North Korea that its statements would lead to further isolation.
"We have made clear to North Korea that its long-term interests will only be served by constructive engagement with the international community. These threatening statements will only seek to isolate it further," he said.
"The armistice agreement has enabled the Korean peninsula to benefit from 60 years' peace. Maintaining it is in the best interests of all."
Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, told reporters travelling with Barack Obama on Air Force One to Miami: "The bellicose rhetoric emanating from North Korea only deepens that nation's isolation. TheUnited States remains committed to safeguarding our allies in the region and our interests that are located there."
Asked if the joint US-South Korean military exercises and the use of the stealth bombers had fuelled the escalation, Earnest replied: "It's clear that the escalation is taking place from the North Koreans based on their rhetoric and on their actions."
The Pentagon said on Friday that the US would not be intimidated, and was ready to defend both its bases and its allies in the region. Lt Col Catherine Wilkinson, a Pentagon spokesperson, said: "The United States is fully capable of defending itself and our allies against a North Korean attack. We are firmly committed to the defence of South Korea and Japan."
The secretary of state, John Kerry, will visit the region in a week or so for meetings with Japan, China and South Korea.
North Korea announced that its forces had been placed on high alert on Tuesday but the threats became graver when a picture was published of Kim reiterating the order at an emergency meeting on Friday.
The US defence department keeps secret its assessment of the distance North Korea's missiles can reach. But Admiral James Winnefeld, vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said a fortnight ago it had one type of missile capable of reaching the US.
While defence analysts agreed that North Korea was theoretically capable of firing a missile, they expressed scepticism about whether its technology was as advanced as it claims and were doubtful about its accuracy in hitting targets.
But there is more concern in Washington than previous standoffs with North Korea have elicited because Kim is a new leader, young and inexperienced and a largely unknown quantity in the west.
A major worry is the possibility that North Korea might attack a South Korean ship – it was blamed for the sinking of a South Korean vessel in 2010 – or a land target. Seoul has said that it would retaliate this time.
Wilkinson said: "North Korea's bellicose rhetoric and threats follow a pattern designed to raise tensions and intimidate others. DPRK will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in north-east Asia.
"We continue to urge the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama's call to choose the path of peace and come into compliance with its international obligations."
She added: "We remain committed to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. This means deterring North Korean aggression, protecting our allies and the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. The United States will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state, nor will we stand by while it seeks to develop a nuclear-armed missile that can target the United States."
At a Pentagon briefing on Thursday, the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, said: "There are a lot of unknowns here. But we have to take seriously every provocative, bellicose word and action that this new, young leader has taken so far since he's come to power."
Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the non-proliferation and disarmament programme of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, played down the threat. "North Korea is upping its rhetoric to a world-class level, but it's still just rhetoric. They have no capability to hit the US mainland with anything – except through cyberspace. Their only tested missiles can fly a maximum of 1,600km, less than half the distance to Guam."
Fitzpatrick, who is scheduled to lead a thinktank discussion at the institute's Washington office next Thursday on whether the US policy of patience has run its course and whether it should instead pursue reunification of the Korean peninsula, said on Friday that while North Korea was limited in its ability to hit US targets, it posed a threat to South Korea and Japan.
"Their Scuds and Nodongs can hit anywhere in South Korea and Japan. Using them would be suicidal, of course. The far more likely scenario is a pin-prick attack in the nature of the 2010 attacks. This time, however, South Korea is determined to respond with an eye for an eye, in order to restore deterrence. North Korea's ensuing response could trigger a larger conflagration."
Jim Walsh, a specialist on security and nuclear weapons at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, played down the prospect of an attack on the US, but said: "The reason it is scary is you can get war even when no one intends to have a war. All the sides – South Korea, North Korea and others – are now leaning into each other, and if someone makes a mistake, I am concerned that that mistake will escalate into something larger than anyone expected.
"Suddenly you have a young man in a closed country who has to decide whether he is going to respond to your actions."
The risk was not of a North Korean attack on the US but of one on South Korea that would bring in the US, he said.
Walsh, who has visited North Korea and has had talks with its officials in Switzerland, Sweden and the US, said the present confrontation felt different because of the harsher rhetoric from North Korea, the secret defence pact agreed by the US and South Korea and the US military drills this week.
"If we are lucky it will all be bluster on everyone's side. That is the good outcome," Walsh said. "The bad outcome is that it is bluster until someone screws up and then war happens."
Michael O'Hanlon, one of the leading military analysts in the US, expressed worries that the US approach of tit-for-tat and imposition of additional permanent sanctions after North Korea's third nuclear test could exacerbate the situation. Like Walsh, he sees this confrontation as being different from previous ones.
In an email, O'Hanlon, a security specialist at Washington's Brookings Institution, said: "I favour temporary sanctions in response to the third nuclear test, to give Pyongyang an incentive not to provoke again." He argues that setting a time limit such as two, three or four years could encourage North Korea not to conduct another nuclear test.
"I am talking about automatic sunset provisions with a specific timeframe, unless of course there is another nuclear test or another act of violence," O'Hanlon said.
