NORTH KOREA surprised the world again yesterday by exercising restraint in the face of a live-fire military exercise by its southern neighbour near a disputed island in the Yellow Sea.
Despite prior warnings of “catastrophic” consequences if the exercise went ahead, the government in Pyongyang said it was “not worth reacting” after South Korea fired almost 2,000 shells into the waters it claims as its territory.
Its low-key reaction – which coincided with reports of an additional promise to readmit international nuclear inspectors and sell off its remaining uranium stockpile to the South – was in sharp contrast to a fierce response last month when a similar exercise prompted a deadly barrage that claimed the lives of two civilians and two marines on Yeonpyeong Island. After the drill, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak ordered troops to remain on alert, highlighting concerns the North could be biding its time.
Tensions on the peninsula are at a pitch rarely seen since the cessation of the Korean war in 1953, but the international community is divided about how to respond.
China, North Korea’s key ally, said it was “unambiguously opposed” to any acts that could worsen tensions. The Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, called for restraint from all parties concerned.
The UN security council met yesterday. US ambassador Susan Rice said the US and other council members demanded the council condemn North Korea for the attacks this year, but diplomats said China had strongly objected. However, hopes have been raised by reports North Korea has agreed to allow UN nuclear inspectors back in.
The move was promised to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a frequent unofficial envoy to North Korea and a former US ambassador to the UN, who returned from Pyongyang yesterday after talks with senior officials. He has described the situation as a “tinderbox”.
Zhang Liangui, professor of international strategic research at the Chinese Communist party school, said South Korea has demonstrated it will not back down.
"Even after the sinking of the Cheonan, they showed restraint. But since the Yeonpyeong Island incident, they are taking a harder stance. Now both sides are engaged in brinkmanship. It is hard to predict what will happen next." – ( Guardianservice)