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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| NKorea accuses South of faking warship sinking |
| 2010-05-29 |
| North Korea's most powerful state organ said Friday that South Korea faked the sinking of one of its own warships and warned that the Korean peninsula was edging ever closer to war. Pyongyang has made similar statements through state media since a multinational probe said last week that a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine downed the vessel, killing 46 sailors in the worst attack on the South Korean military since the Korean War. This time, though, the comments were delivered at an extremely rare press conference in the North Korean capital presided over by a uniformed official with the secretive country's National Defense Commission, which is headed by leader Kim Jong Il. North Korea has denied any responsibility and warned that retaliation or punishment for the sinking would mean armed conflict. So far, it has issued various threats, including one to cut off South Korean access to a joint industrial zone in the North and wage "all-out war." South Korea's military has reported no unusual moves by the North's troops. "The South Korean puppet regime's faked sinking of the Cheonan has created a very serious situation on the Korean peninsula, pushing it towards the brink of war," Maj. Gen. Pak Rim Su, director of the commission's policy department, said at the press conference, according to broadcaster APTN. A number of people attended, including some foreigners who may have been Pyongyang-based diplomats, footage showed. A uniformed foreign military officer could be seen watching the proceedings, which were aired in full on state television. Tensions have soared further since South Korea laid out Monday a series of punitive measures and pledged to haul Pyongyang before the U.N. Security Council. The steps include slashing trade, resuming anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts across the border and launching large-scale naval exercises off the western coast. "These anti-North Korean confrontations are an open declaration of war against us and an extraordinarily criminal act that pushes inter-Korean relations into a state of war," Pak said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Denver Postpile, 5.29.10, "China Pledges Neutrality In Korean Inquiry." Yep, sure, OK, I believe you this time. |
| Posted by: Flapper Scourge of the Algonquins4926 2010-05-29 16:28 |
| #6 ahhh the old-double-back-reach-around-false-flag-operation. Why didn't I see this before? [sarc] |
| Posted by: Mike Hunt 2010-05-29 15:15 |
| #5 fluffy bunnies. reminden me of teh time we fake nuked em in 2010. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2010-05-29 13:30 |
| #4 SKors have said they're going to move their people out. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-05-29 10:46 |
| #3 Closing it is for South Korea would be more a symbolic act then a major economic act. Except for the South Korean employees still up there, Bernardz. At the moment they are hostages. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-29 09:52 |
| #2 The joint industrial zone is worth about $500 million to South Korea. Closing it is for South Korea would be more a symbolic act then a major economic act. |
| Posted by: Bernardz 2010-05-29 07:52 |
| #1 My guess is that this claim by the Norks will give China enough cover to use their veto in the Security Council. |
| Posted by: ScottR 2010-05-29 01:26 |