North Korea confirms end of war armistice
2013-03-13 19:33
Seoul - North Korea confirmed on Wednesday that it had
shredded the 60-year-old armistice ending the Korean War, and warned that the
next step was an act of "merciless" military retaliation against its
enemies.
A lengthy statement by the North's armed forces ministry
added to the tide of dire threats flowing from Pyongyang in recent days that
have raised military tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest level
for years.
The statement carried by the official Korean Central News
Agency argued that the real "warmongering" was coming from the US and
its "puppets" in Seoul.
"They would be well advised to keep in mind that the
armistice agreement is no longer valid and [North Korea] is not restrained by
the North-South declaration on non-aggression," a ministry spokesperson
said.
"What is left to be done now is an action of justice
and merciless retaliation of the army and people" of North Korea, the
spokesperson said.
The North announced last week that it would nullify the
1953 armistice and peace pacts signed with Seoul in protest over joint South
Korea-US military manoeuvres that began on Monday.
Because the Korean War was concluded with an armistice
rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas have always remained technically at
war.
Voiding the ceasefire theoretically opens the way to a
resumption of hostilities, although observers note this is far from the first
time that North Korea has announced the demise of the armistice.
The armistice was approved by the UN General Assembly,
and both the UN and South Korea have repudiated the North's unilateral
withdrawal.
"The terms of the armistice agreement do not allow
either side, unilaterally, to free themselves from it," said UN spokesperson
Martin Nesirky.
Threats of nuclear strike
The North has also threatened to launch nuclear strikes
against the US and South Korea in response to fresh UN sanctions adopted after
the North carried out its third nuclear test last month.
While the threats have been mostly dismissed as bluster,
there are strong concerns that the North will attempt some form of military
provocation in the coming weeks.
The South's Yonhap news agency on Wednesday quoted a
senior military source as saying sorties by North Korean fighter jets in recent
days had reached "unprecedented" levels, with around 700 counted on
Monday alone.
As well as nullifying ceasefire agreements, the North
severed a Red Cross hotline that was one of the few means of communication
between Pyongyang and Seoul, which do not have diplomatic relations.
However, a spokesperson for the presidential Blue House
in Seoul said a military hotline was still operating.
"The military communication is working normally and
we will seek to convey any message to the North via the channel when
necessary," she said.
Wednesday's statement by the armed forces ministry was
notable for carrying the first official criticism of South Korea's new president,
Park Geun-Hye, since she took office a little more than two weeks ago.
While the spokesperson did not mention Park by name, he
said the "frenzy" stirred up the "warmongers" in South
Korea was orchestrated by the "swish of the skirt made by the owner of
Chongwadae [the Blue House]."
He also slammed Park's recent comments that the North's
obsession with nuclear weapons would bring about its own collapse as
"utter ignorance" and an echo of the "confrontational"
policy of Park's predecessor Lee Myung-Bak.
Park had campaigned on a pledge of greater engagement
with North Korea, but February's nuclear test put any rapprochement on
indefinite hold.
