Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
US Pacific commander affirms stern response to NK provocations
Adm. Harry Harris, second from left in front row, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, looks at the salvaged warship Cheonan at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, after paying a tribute to the sailors who died after the ship was torpedoed by North Korea in March 2010. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Choi Yoon-hee, third from left, joined the guided tour. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The new head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris Jr., vowed Wednesday that there will be a firm response to any provocation by North Korea, while paying tribute to South Korean sailors killed in Pyongyang’s deadly 2010 attack on the warship Cheonan.
The visiting commander, who assumed the position on May 27, made the pledge during his visit to the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the wreckage of the ill-fated frigate is on display.
“I believe North Korea is dangerous, it’s unpredictable and it’s led by a leader who is arrogant,” he said. “I consider North Korea a rogue nation discredited by the entire world.”
He noted that the repressive state has expressed its “willingness to use military provocations to achieve its national goals.”
In March 2010, the 1,200-ton Cheonan was sunk in West Sea by a North Korean torpedo attack, killing 46 sailors. The North has denied responsibility for the attack, calling Seoul blaming Pyongyang an “outright fabrication.”
“So I have to tell you that the U.S. remains vigil in the face of North Korea’s continued provocations and steadfast in our alliance’s commitment to the ROK (Republic of Korea),” he said. “It is no accident that the first country that I visited as the Pacific Command commander in the bilateral sense was Korea.”
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Choi Yoon-hee and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti accompanied Harris.
Before the commemoration, Harris met Choi to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual concern on the Navy’s 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer, Seoae Ryu Seong-ryongr (DDG-993), moored in the 2nd Fleet Command.
The JCS noted that the two sides once again confirmed their instant and strong responses based on their solid combined defense posture after being debriefed on recent movements of the North Korean military.
Later in the day, Harris met with Defense Minister Han Min-koo during which the commander underlined the Seoul-Washington alliance as being “of fundamental importance to both countries for stability and peace in the entire Asia-Pacific region.”
The isolated state has intentionally heightened tensions along the western sea border by carrying out live-fire drills twice near the Northern Limit Line last month. Its claim on May 9 that it successfully carried out a submarine-launched ballistic missile test underwater also intensified tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Harris paid a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye upon his arrival in Seoul, Tuesday. He is scheduled to visit Japan Thursday.
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