THE DIVIDED Korean peninsula appeared to be teetering on the brink of all-out war yesterday after the North fired dozens of shells across the border, killing at two South Korean marines and reportedly leaving 15 troops and three civilians injured.
The artillery bombardment – one of the heaviest since the Korean War ended without a peace treaty in 1953 – left parts of Yeonpyeong island northwest of the South’s capital Seoul in smoking ruins, said witnesses quoted in the Korean media.
Local television said many of the island’s 1,300 inhabitants fled to shelters. South Korea’s defence ministry claims that dozens of homes were hit in the hour-long shelling and that the South Korean military fired back about 80 shells before the two sides returned to an uneasy standoff. Pyongyang claims that the South Koreans fired first and threatened a “merciless” response.
President Lee Myung-bak last night put the South’s military on its highest alert and called the shelling a “completely unforgivable” attack on civilians. He threatened to “sternly retaliate” against any further provocations, as pressure mounted for him to craft a tough response. “The administration and military must deal with North Korea’s brutality using whatever means necessary,” said An Young Hwan, a spokesperson for the ruling Grand National Party.
Both sides of one of the world’s most heavily militarised borders are technically still at war with thousands of troops on alert.
Sporadic shelling and exchanges of fire have occurred over the years. Troops fired on each other last on October 29th. But yesterday’s attack is considered especially serious because it was aimed at a populated area.
“I’m very concerned because this was a direct attack, not like the others,” said Shin-wha Lee, professor of International Relations at Korea University in Seoul. “Maybe it’s just more brinkmanship but at this stage nobody knows for sure.”
Cross-border ties have been close to deep freeze since the March 26th sinking of the South Korean Cheonan gunboat, which killed 46 sailors.
A team of international investigators later blamed the sinking on the North, sparking a new round of sanctions. Pyongyang this weekend showed off a new uranium enrichment facility in a move denounced as “provocative” by US special representative for North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth.
But the bombardment, which follows a month of hopeful signs in the always volatile relationship, has Pyongyang-watchers puzzled.
Some believe it may be a demonstration of power ahead of the succession of leader Kim Jong-il’s son, Jong Un, who was catapulted from obscurity to senior military and political rank at an extraordinary Workers’ Party conference in September. The concern is that events inside the nuclear-armed North may be spinning out of control as the balance of forces around Kim Jong-il shifts.
Major powers expressed concern or alarm at the shelling. Among North Korea’s neighbours, Russia said it saw a “colossal danger” of an escalation in fighting on the peninsula. But Pyongyang’s old ally in the region, China, held back criticism, saying it was imperative to resume six-party talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear weapons programme.
The US urged North Korea to “halt its belligerent action”, saying it was “firmly committed to the defence of our ally, the Republic of Korea, and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability”.
The Pentagon said it was not reinforcing US forces stationed in the region but declined to say if it had raised their alert level.
Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan said he had ordered his cabinet to prepare for “any unexpected event”.
The North’s state-run KCNA news agency, meanwhile, denied its military had started the exchange. “The South Korean enemy, despite our repeated warnings, committed reckless military provocations of firing artillery shells into our maritime territory near Yeonpyeong island,” the agency said, quoting the military, which promised more “merciless military attacks” in response to further provocations.
