Park warns of retaliation against NK provocations

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye ordered the military to strongly retaliate against any North Korean provocations, Thursday, amid growing military threats from Pyongyang.

She also warned of continued sanctions and pressures on the repressive state to make sure that it abandons its nuclear program and sets a course for true change.

“With the international community’s tough sanctions on the North gradually taking effect, it may opt for unexpected provocative actions,” Park said at a luncheon in Cheong Wa Dae with some 70 top military commanders, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin.

The meeting was held one day after the North test-fired two Musudan intermediate range missiles off its east coast ― one of them being seen as a partial success.

“The military is required to remain on high alert to counter all possible North Korean provocations,” she said, urging a stern response from the military.

In March, the U.N. imposed the toughest sanctions yet on the North for its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, and long-range rocket launch Feb. 7, both of which violated U.N. resolutions.

To protest the international punishment and ease pressure, the Kim Jong-un regime has conducted a series of provocations, including test-firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles and unveiling a miniaturized nuclear warhead.

In the wake of North Korea’s ongoing provocations, Park said that it is unlikely that there will be a turnaround in the ongoing standoff anytime soon.

“We will not tolerate the North’s provocations that threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula and will seek close cooperation with the international community to make the North change its behavior,” she said.

Park also said that she would break the vicious cycle of North Korean provocation followed by compensation and then further provocation.

Earlier in the day, the defense minister warned that the North will face deeper diplomatic isolation and self-destruction if it continues to push ahead with military provocations.

Han presided over a meeting with 150 top military commanders at the defense ministry to discuss follow-up measures to the North’s test-firing of the two missiles.

“The missile launches are a clear violation of U.N. resolutions and a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the defense minister said.

“As a result, North Korea will face tougher sanctions for its imprudent provocations, which will completely isolate the country and lead to self-destruction.”

Han also said that this is the first time for the North to strategically prolong provocations since the armistice agreement in 1953, describing the situation on the peninsula as challenging.

“Kim Jong-un’s unpredictability is increasing the possibility of provocative actions by the North’s military, placing us in a critical security situation, so we should maintain a stern defensive posture,” he said.

In the wake of escalating North Korean missile threats, the defense ministry plans to speed up developing the indigenous “Kill Chain” pre-emptive anti-missile system and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), a low-tier air defense program. Seoul plans to deploy both by the mid-2020s.