North Korea today fired its latest bout of angry rhetoric directed at Seoul and Washington which was brushed off by both the nations at empty rhetoric.
In continuation with its war cry which has been going on for a while, the North Korea also threatened to shut down an industrial zone it operates jointly with the South near the heavily armed border. As of today it is just threatening but imagine what happens if it really enters into a war with the South Korea and US interests in the region.
The two Koreas are technically in a state of war for six decades under a truce that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Despite its continuing threats of this and that and issuing photoshopped images of marine landings, few people especially form the defence are taking it seriously. For if the North goes to war this time around, it is sure to have no over support from China as it had in 1950 conflict. Russia too is busy with its own ends in Syria and other parts to take any interest in the beligerent nation. Covert support from China will not be of any use to the North in view of heavily armed South and US might.
"From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly," a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency said. KCNA said the statement was issued jointly by the North's government, ruling party and other organizations.
The South Korean observers at the boundary between the two said that there was no sign of unusual activity in the North's military to suggest any aggression
The North has been threatening to attack the South and U.S. military bases almost on a daily basis since the beginning of March, when U.S. and South Korean militaries started routine drills that have been conducted for decades without incident. Many in the South have regarded the North's willingness to keep open the Kaesong industrial zone, located just a few miles (km) north of the border, as a sign that Pyongyang will not risk losing a lucrative source of hard currency by mounting a real act of aggression.
"If the puppet traitor group continues to mention the Kaesong industrial zone is being kept operating and damages our dignity, it will be mercilessly shut off and shut down," KCNA quoted an agency that operates Kaesong as saying in a statement. Though this sounds a hollow statement given the fact that it is the only facility which earns any kind of hard currency for the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday signed off on an order putting its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in the South and the Pacific.
However the US doesn't seem to take the rhetoric lying down. Yesterday it flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a tit for tat diplomacy. Though the foreign officials have downplayed the incident saying that the B-2 bombers were on a diplomatic sortie to reassure its South Korean and Japanese allies. As for the South Korean government, it brushed off the North's latest rhetoric as being nothing anew.
If you like this article please press Facebook Like and Google Plus on the page, visit here for more world news.
If you like this article please press Facebook Like and Google Plus on the page, visit here for more world news.
Vijay Prabhu
Via Rueters
0 comments