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As North Korea threat grows, US dismisses nuclear talk in Seoul as ‘irresponsible’
- Pyongyang’s spate of shelling violates an inter-Korean accord that is the last remaining security device to prevent accidental armed clashes along the border
- US envoy to Seoul urged China to play its part to help restrain the North, while also dismissing calls by some conservatives in Seoul to acquire nuclear arms
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North Korea’s breach of a military accord in its recent rounds of shelling is a “dangerous situation” that analysts say could further inflame tensions on the Korean peninsula, but amid the growing threat, the US has dismissed calls by some in Seoul to acquire nuclear weapons as “irresponsible”.
The South’s military Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea on Tuesday fired some 100 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea, another 150 rounds into the waters off the eastern coast. An additional 100 shots were fired around midday on Wednesday into waters off the west coast.
All the artillery shells fell into eastern and western “buffer zones” north of the de facto inter-Korean sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line, violating a 2018 accord to reduce tensions.
This is a dangerous situation that must be carefully handled
“The 2018 inter-Korean military accord, which is the last security device aimed to prevent accidental armed clashes along the border, is being under threat from the escalating military activities by both sides,” said political-science professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies. “This is a dangerous situation that must be carefully handled.”
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The latest salvo of artillery rounds came days after North Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells into the buffer zones. It has also staged eight rounds of ballistic missile tests since late last month, including a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that flew over Japan and could reach the US Pacific territory of Guam, some 3,400 kilometres away.
The launches were conducted as a tit-for-tat against two sets of military drills – one between the US and South Korea, and the other involving Washington, Seoul and Tokyo – off the Korean peninsula’s east coast.
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Kim Jong-un oversees missile launch, one of several recent tests by North Korea
Kim Jong-un oversees missile launch, one of several recent tests by North Korea
The latest artillery firings came as the South on Monday began their annual military exercises for a 10-day run and hours after Seoul announced a plan to launch a large-scale joint air force drill with the US, including the involvement of stealth jet fighters used for deeply invasive attacks.
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