Tension mounts as two Koreas play hardball

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Staff reporter

The two Koreas are on a collision course after a multinational investigation team announced Thursday that North Korea torpedoed the South Korean frigate Cheonan near their maritime border in the West Sea on March 26.

Foreign policy experts warned of the catastrophic state of security on the Korean Peninsula, calling on the government to sit down with the North.

They said a diplomatic breakthrough may come if the two sides meet and have a frank talk.

Their advice came as military tensions mounted on the peninsula in the wake of the Cheonan sinking.

In a statement released Friday, North Korea described the current circumstances as a state of war, threatening to react firmly to any measures taken by the South.

The North further warned that South Korea's possible retaliatory measures will take a heavy toll on inter-Korean relations, joint economic cooperation projects and even the non-aggression treaty as it is ready to scrap or shut down all of these.

Such a tough reaction came a day after North Korea's National Defense Commission called the multinational investigation team's findings "fabrications."

It also said the North's military was willing to send a fact-finding team to the South to see if the evidence the investigation team found was genuine.

South Korea hasn't backed off. Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said the government would react firmly to the North.

"Watching the investigation team's presentation, I was shocked and was barely able to control my emotions. All we need now is unity," he stressed during a meeting with high-ranking government officials.

The government is seeking a two-track approach ― economic and diplomatic measure ― to deal with the North. It plans to cut inter-Korean trade to press the North, whose economic condition went from bad to worse after a failed currency reform last November.

South Korea is also preparing to take the maritime disaster to the U.N. Security Council.

Given that the North has denied its involvement in the Cheonan sinking and reiterated retaliatory measures against the South, a clash seems to be unavoidable if the two sides cling to their hard-line positions.

Rep. Song Min-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party told The Korea Times over the phone that many questions still remained unanswered even after the investigation team presented its findings.

To quench suspicions, the former foreign minister said the government needs to accept the North's proposal of sending its team to the South to see if what the investigation team found was true.

"The government can also invite Chinese experts, along with the North Korean team, to let them see the evidence in person. If all parties agree that the evidence is clear enough, then we can demand that the North admit its deeds or apologize for what it has done," he said.

Regarding the North's offer to dispatch a team, South Korea said it is not in a position to accept it.

The two Koreas are technically still at war and the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission is in charge of the management of affairs associated with armistice, the government said.

North Korea watcher Kim Yong-hyun called on the government to accept the North's offer if it officially makes the proposal through the U.N. body.

"If the two sides meet, I think they can find ways of easing military tensions," he said.

Some North Korea experts say if South Korea rejects the North's offer, suspicions about the evidence will not be quenched.