Seoul warns Pyongyang over artillery barrage

Psychological warfare may resume near border

By Jung Sung-ki

South Korea warned North Korea Tuesday of a stern response to the latter’s continued provocations near the sea border.

In a statement sent to North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense condemned an artillery barrage fired toward the Northern Limit Line (NLL) by the North’s military Monday, denouncing it as a “grave provocation” that violated the Armistice Agreement and an inter-Korean non-aggression pact.

North Korea fired nearly 120 artillery shells toward the NLL in the West Sea, and some of the shells landed in the southern area of the sea border, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The provocation came shortly after South Korean armed forces concluded a five-day naval exercise in the disputed waters, where one of South Korea’s warships was sunk by a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine.

“Pyongyang’s sudden artillery firing, citing Seoul’s ordinary naval exercise, is a grave provocation that violates the Armistice Agreement and a bilateral non-aggression pact. We urge the North to stop these provocations immediately,” the statement said.

North Korea must apologize for its involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan ship, and should it continue taking provocative acts, South Korea’s military will respond sternly, it said.

The United States also denounced North Korea’s latest provocation, warning of further isolation and continued implementation of international sanctions on the communist regime.

“Certainly the firing of a very large number of rounds in the region is the last thing that we want to see and is certainly not the best way to reduce tensions,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

“It is unclear to us exactly what North Korea feels it is trying to achieve through this ongoing chest-thumping that it has engaged in,” he added.

“It is not a helpful sign by North Korea. This is exactly the kind of behavior that we would like to see North Korea avoid.”

A JCS spokesman said the North fired a total of 117 artillery rounds toward the NLL, a flash point for inter-Korean conflicts. Of them, about 10 rounds fell on the southern side of the de facto border.

“We confirmed that some 10 rounds landed about 1-2 kilometers south of the NLL,” the spokesman said, adding the South didn’t return fire.

Officials at the defense ministry said South Korea’s military may resume its psychological warfare near the border unless the North stops provocations.

As part of countermeasures to the March 26 sinking of the frigate Cheonan, the ministry originally planned to resume psychological warfare operations, including loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-communist propaganda near the Military Demarcation Line.

But the plan has been put on hold, as opponents argued such a move could raise cross-border tensions further.

Other psychological warfare tactics include erecting electronic billboards along the border and dropping propaganda leaflets by balloon.