By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Unification expressed deep regret Friday over North Korea's hostile rhetoric that threatened to nullify all previous political and military agreements with the South.
Pyongyang's latest announcement continues to heighten inter-Korean tension. The Stalinist regime continued to accuse the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration of favoring a confrontational policy that is pushing the two countries toward what it described as the brink of war.
In a press conference, ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said the South Korean government expressed deep regret over Pyongyang's threat. But he added Seoul will continue to seek reconciliation and a resumption of dialogue to bring peace on the Peninsula. ``We urge Pyongyang to accept our call for dialogue as soon as possible,'' the spokesman said.
The Ministry of National Defense offered perhaps a more resolute statement in response to Pyongyang's latest hostile stance. The ministry said it was committed to taking firm counteraction if the North makes any attempt to violate the U.N.-designated West Sea border, also called the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said that South Korea will uphold the maritime border ``just as we maintain the military demarcation line on land.'' The spokesman added: ``We'll respond resolutely to any intrusion.''
The reactions came after North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, an agency in Pyongyang handling inter-Korean affairs, stated that the North was nullifying all military agreements with Seoul and also declared the western NNL maritime border void.
The committee said in a statement, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, that ``the group of traitors has already reduced all the agreements reached between the North and the South in the past to dead documents.''
``Under such a situation,'' the committee stated, ``it is self-evident that there is no need for (North Korea) to remain bound to those North-South agreements. All the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the North and South will be nullified.'' The latest statement represents a possible nullification of all reconciliatory agreements reached between the two nations over the past two decades.
The North Korean announcement comes less than two weeks after it threatened military steps in response to Seoul's ``confrontational policies'' and about two months after North Korea imposed restrictions on the with the South.
North Korea observers say if the latest statement turns out to be more than just empty rhetoric, and Pyongyang takes further action to prove its hostile talk, it could have significant implications for the political and diplomatic dynamics on the peninsula.
Experts also commented that with new signs emerging that Pyongyang is trying to improve relations with the Barack Obama administration in Washington, what North Korea is doing may be embracing the ``Tong-Mi, Bong-Nam'' strategy ― opening doors to Washington while cutting ties with Seoul and creating a rift between South Korea and the United States.
Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korean affairs and professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told The Korea Times that Pyongyang, by heightening inter-Korean tension, may be trying to teach a lesson to President Lee as well as to future South Korean leaders. Pyongyang is likely trying to tell South Korean leaders that it will only accept the pro-engagement Sunshine Policy of past administrations, the professor said.
``In recent months North Korea has been raising the stakes and increasing pressure on Seoul. It is possible that they hope that President Lee will bow to this pressure and return to the old policies of unilateral concessions,'' Lankov said.
``However, it is more likely that they intend to `teach Seoul a lesson,' caring about long-term future and targeting the future South Korean presidents. Their message is clear: they are going to engage Seoul strictly on their own terms,'' he said.