North Korea Threatens Armed Strike, End to Armistice (Update1)
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By Heejin Koo
May 27 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea threatened military action in response to South Korea joining a program to seize weapons shipments, and said it’s no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.
South Korea’s actions are tantamount to a “declaration of war,” the official Korean Central News Agency said in a statement today. “If the armistice agreement loses its validity, the Korean peninsula will revert to a state of war.”
The threats are the strongest since North Korea tested a nuclear weapon on May 25th, drawing international condemnation and the prospect of increased sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s reclusive regime. South Korea yesterday joined the U.S.-led initiative to locate and seize shipments of equipment and materials used to make weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea can’t guarantee the safety of ships passing through its western waters near the maritime border with the South, the KCNA statement said. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index fell almost 2 percent, paring earlier gains.
Under the July 27, 1953, armistice that ended the Korean War, both sides agreed to “a complete cessation of all hostilities” and pledged to accept the demarcation line that has become the most-heavily mined demilitarized zone in the world.
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak had resisted joining the anti-proliferation program until the nuclear test, even after North Korea fired a ballistic missile on April 5. His predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, had said that joining the initiative would be too provocative.
“We will regard any intervention, searches or other minor hostile acts against our peaceful ships as an intolerable violation of our sovereign rights and will counter with an immediate and forceful military strike,” KCNA said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at [email protected]; Bomi Lim in Seoul at [email protected]
Last Updated: May 27, 2009 00:56 EDT
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Heejin Koo
May 27 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea threatened military action in response to South Korea joining a program to seize weapons shipments, and said it’s no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.
South Korea’s actions are tantamount to a “declaration of war,” the official Korean Central News Agency said in a statement today. “If the armistice agreement loses its validity, the Korean peninsula will revert to a state of war.”
The threats are the strongest since North Korea tested a nuclear weapon on May 25th, drawing international condemnation and the prospect of increased sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s reclusive regime. South Korea yesterday joined the U.S.-led initiative to locate and seize shipments of equipment and materials used to make weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea can’t guarantee the safety of ships passing through its western waters near the maritime border with the South, the KCNA statement said. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index fell almost 2 percent, paring earlier gains.
Under the July 27, 1953, armistice that ended the Korean War, both sides agreed to “a complete cessation of all hostilities” and pledged to accept the demarcation line that has become the most-heavily mined demilitarized zone in the world.
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak had resisted joining the anti-proliferation program until the nuclear test, even after North Korea fired a ballistic missile on April 5. His predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, had said that joining the initiative would be too provocative.
“We will regard any intervention, searches or other minor hostile acts against our peaceful ships as an intolerable violation of our sovereign rights and will counter with an immediate and forceful military strike,” KCNA said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at [email protected]; Bomi Lim in Seoul at [email protected]
Last Updated: May 27, 2009 00:56 EDT
