North Korea Vows 'Unprecedented Nuclear Strikes' In Latest Threat
KWANG-TAE KIM | 03/25/10 11:38 PM | 
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Read More: Korean Central News Agency, North Korea, North Korea Nuclear, North Korea Nuclear Strike,North Korea Us, Nuclear, South Korea, World News
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's military warned South Korea and the United States on Friday of "unprecedented nuclear strikes" over a report the two countries plan to prepare for possible instability in the totalitarian country.
The North routinely issues such warnings and officials in Seoul and Washington react calmly. Diplomats in South Korea and the U.S. instead have repeatedly called on Pyongyang to return to international negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear programs.
"Those who seek to bring down the system in the (North), whether they play a main role or a passive role, will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army," North Korea's military said in comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North, believed have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs, conducted its second atomic test last year, drawing tighter U.N. sanctions.
Experts from South Korea, the U.S. and China will meet in China next month to share information on North Korea, assess possible contingencies in the country, and consider ways to cooperate in case of an emergency situation, South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported earlier this month, citing unidentified sources in Seoul and Beijing. The experts will also hold follow-up meetings in Seoul in June and in Honolulu in July, it said.
The North Korean statement Friday specifically referred to the March 19 newspaper report.
A spokeswoman said the South Korean Defense Ministry had no information.
South Korean media have reported that Seoul has drawn up a military operations plan with the United States to cope with possible emergencies in the North. The North says the U.S. plots to topple its regime, a claim Washington has consistently denied.
Last month, the North also threatened a "powerful – even nuclear – attack," if the U.S. and South Korea went ahead with annual military drills. There was no military provocation from North Korea during the exercises.
South Korea Navy Ship Sinking Near North Korea After Explosion
KWANG-TAE KIM | 03/26/10 11:37 AM |
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Read More: Baengnyeong Island, North Korea, South Korea, South Korea Military, South Korea Navy,South Korea North Korea, South Korea Sinking Ship, World News
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's military scrambled naval vessels to the western waters near the disputed maritime border with North Korea late Friday after an explosion ripped a hole in the bottom of a military ship, officials and news reports said.
The ship – reported to have 104 crew on board – began sinking off the coast of South Korean-controlled Baengnyeong Island close to North Korea around 10:45 p.m. (1345 GMT, 9:45 a.m. EDT), an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
He said the exact cause was not immediately clear. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported an explosion in the rear of the 1,200-ton ship, but the official said he could not confirm the report.
Minutes later, Yonhap reported that another South Korean ship fired shots toward an unidentified target in the direction of North Korea. The Joint Chiefs official said he could not confirm the shooting but said the military was strengthening its vigilance in the area.
The incident comes amid heightened tension between the two Koreas, which remain in a state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.
President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of security-related ministers, Yonhap said, citing presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
Six naval ships and two coast guard vessels were rushed to the waters to rescue the crew of 104 on board the sinking ship, Yonhap said. More than 50 had been saved so far, the report said.
