Highland 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2005 Threatens US bases Sang-Hun Choe Canadian Press February 4, 2005 SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea will turn U.S. military bases in the region into a "sea of fire" if war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, North Korean media on Friday quoted a communist officer as saying. The North's state-run news media highlighted the comment hours after South Korea released a new defence policy paper that revealed a U.S. reinforcement plan to dispatch 690,000 troops and 2,000 warplanes if war breaks out in Korea. The comment comes as the isolated North is urging its military to prepare for what it calls a U.S. plan to invade. Washington and its allies say they are trying to end the North's nuclear weapons programs through multinational disarmament talks. "If the U.S. imperialists ignite flames of war, we will first of all strike all bases of U.S. imperialist aggressors and turn them into a sea of fire," North Korea's Central Radio quoted officer Hur Ryong as saying, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Hur was also quoted as saying that the North Korean military will "thoroughly incinerate the aggressor elements that collude with the U.S. imperialists," in an apparent reference to South Korea and Japan, both of which host U.S. military bases. Hur made his comment on Wednesday during a debate in the capital Pyongyang on leader Kim Jong Il's "army-first" policy that stresses military strength. Earlier Friday, South Korea released its new defence white paper that mirrored its efforts to redefine half-century-old confrontation with the communist North as well as adjust its alliance with the United States. The white paper, which has been updated for the first time in four years, removes 10-year-old references to North Korea being the South's "main enemy," although it still calls the North a "direct military threat." The removal of the "main enemy" term is largely symbolic but reflects South Korea's efforts at fostering reconciliation with North Korea. North Korea, which accuses the United States and South Korea of preparing to invade over its nuclear weapons programs, has added more artillery pieces and missiles to its Korean People's Army, already the world's fifth largest, it said. The number of North Korean troops remained unchanged at 1.17 million. Already armed with large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, the North is resisting U.S. pressure to give up its nuclear weapons programs. Three rounds of six-country talks aimed at ending the programs produced no breakthroughs. The United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia are struggling to schedule a new round of talks. Yes, I know it's just the usual propaganda and nothing new, but I thought it was worth noting. The situation over there might make the Middle East look tranquil. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
