Seoul: North Korea’s military yesterday threatened the South with imminent “sledge-hammer” retaliation unless Seoul apologised for anti-Pyongyang protesters burning effigies of its revered leaders.
South Korea called the North’s ultimatum “regrettable” and “absurd” with the defence ministry vowing a tough response to any military provocation.
As North Korea marked the birth of late founding leader Kim Il-Sung on Monday, around 40 protesters in Seoul burned portraits of Kim, his son Kim Jong-Il and grandson and current leader Kim Jong-Un.
Condemning what it described as a “thrice-cursed... monstrous criminal act”, the Korean People’s Army Supreme Command said: “Our retaliatory action will start without any notice. The military demonstration will be powerful sledge-hammer blows at all hostile forces hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership.”
During his tour of South Korea, China and Japan, US Secretary of State John Kerry had warned that a test-launch in the tense climate would be a “huge mistake”.
Analysts said the North’s demand for apology was couched in language that might open the door to talks the South has been suggesting for days.
The peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.
Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.
Kerry raised the prospect of “authentic” negotiations if Pyongyang took “meaningful steps” to show it would honour past commitments. He also gave US blessing to peace moves by Seoul, which has signalled to listen to what North Korea thinks.
In a further show of solidarity, it was announced that US President Barack Obama would hold his first White House talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on May 7.
The missiles mobilised by the North for a possible launch are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of up to 4,000km covering South Korea and Japan, and possibly US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.
Meanwhile, a US military CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter carrying five crew and 16 other personnel taking part in a training exercise crashed upon landing near the North Korean border. The precise cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Six personnel were hospitalised in “a stable condition”, the US military said.
The Chinese Defence Ministry denied reports of China’s military build-up on its border with North Korea. Reports in foreign media earlier alleged that China was bulking up its military presence on the border amid an escalation in tensions. It made a thinly veiled attack on the US for increasing tensions by ramping up its military presence and alliances in the region.
China is uneasy with what the USs has called the “rebalancing” of forces as Washington winds down the war in Afghanistan and renews its attention further east.
China says the policy has emboldened Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in longstanding territorial disputes with Beijing.
A ministry report said China faces “multiple and complicated” threats in the Asia-Pacific region but will put defending itself “above all else”.
In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will not be swayed by North Korea’s latest provocative rhetoric. He said the North’s statement was very regrettable and the Japanese government was taking steps to prepare for the unexpected.
In an interview with NBC’s Today Show, US President Barack Obama said he did not believe North Korea could yet arm a missile with a nuclear warhead, but predicted new provocations. He hoped the isolated state would stand down and use diplomacy to address its perceived grievances.
North Korea said it would not agree to a “humiliating” dialogue with the US and talks were only possible if Washington abandoned its “hostile” policy and nuclear threats. Agencies
