Park tells N. Korea: change course or perish
SOUTH KOREA: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye warned North Korea
on Tuesday that its only “path to survival” lay in abandoning its
nuclear and missile programmes.
In a speech to mark the third anniversary of the sinking of a South
Korean naval vessel by what Seoul insists was a North Korean submarine,
Park called on Pyongyang to “change course” at a time of elevated
military tension on the Korean peninsula.
“For the North, the only path to survival lies in stopping
provocations and threats, abandoning its nuclear weaponry and missiles,
and becoming a responsible member of the international community,” Park
said.
The president delivered her speech at the national cemetery in the
central city of Daejeon where the 46 sailors who died when the Cheonan
corvette sunk are buried.
North Korea has always denied any involvement in the incident which
precipitated a total freeze in South-North relations.
“Even now, North Korea is threatening our national security,” Park
said, citing Pyongyang's successful long-range rocket test in December
and the third nuclear test it carried out last month.
Both events triggered UN sanctions that infuriated the North, which
has spent the past month issuing increasingly dire threats about
unleashing an “all-out war” backed by nuclear weapons. Sabre-rattling
and displays of brinkmanship are nothing new in the region, but there
are concerns that the current situation is so volatile that one
accidental step could escalate into serious confrontation and conflict.
Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the conservative Heritage
Foundation in Washington, believes the “risk of miscalculation and
escalation” is heightened by the presence of new leaders in both Koreas.
AFP
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