While Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Vietnam for a South East Asian Security Forum tensions continue to rise between North and South Korea. Sparked by the March sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan and subsequent allegations of a North Korean submarine torpedo attack in that sinking relations between the US-South Korea and North Korea have deteriorated. Tensions have reached a new zenith with announcements of a joint US-North Korean naval exercise planned for the 22 July 2010 weekend. North Korea has repeatedly denied any part in the sinking of the Cheonan and has threatened retaliation for the naval exercises which it brands as threatening.
North Korea Denies Involvement
In the July 22 2010 edition of Korean News (a state sanctioned North Korean internet news source) North Korea claims that Ri Jong In, a South Korean diving technology firm has confirmed that the Cheonan was broken in half by water filling the vessel after the hull was penetrated by running into rocks. The North Korean Foreign Ministry maintains that the allegations of a torpedo attack are a ploy by the US Government to force the Japanese people to reconsider the movement to push American military from Okinawa and to bolster a mid-term election outcome for a faltering Democratic Congress.
North Korea further condemns economic sanctions imposed by the US and a joint naval exercise which it (North Korea) brands as 'gunboat diplomacy'. Ri Tong Il, North Korean delegate to the 17th ASEAN Forum Retreat in Hanoi, Vietnam told reporters that the exercises will be "another expression of hostile policy against" North Korea. "There will be physical response against the threat imposed by the United States militarily,".
Sanctions and Bank Account Freezes
According to the UK Today News the US has identified 200 bank accounts with ties to North Korea and will freeze approximately half of those as they are suspected of being involved in trade of weapons to the North. South Korea has vowed to cut off all trade with the North and is considering approaching the United Nations National Security Council to ask for tightening sanctions against North Korea levied after North Korea fired a test nuclear device last year.
China has voiced concerns over the new sanctions and military exercises, saying they will only 'aggravate regional tensions'. Secretary of State Clinton has said that the sanctions were not directed at the North Korean people but at the "misguided and malign priorities of their government" and are intended to "discourage further provocative actions,".
With military exercises and sanctions being levied the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula is one of anxiety. As the US and South Korea continues to push for North Korean apologies for the sinking of the Naval vessel Cheonan and the subsequent denial and saber rattling of the North tension in the region may reach epic heights. At this time the US and South Korea are hoping sanctions and military exercises are sufficient to force the North to accept responsibility for its actions.
Sources:
"Results of Investigation of Joint Investigation Team Refuted" Korean News
"North Korea warns of 'all-out war' if Punished for South Korean Ship Sinking" NY Daily News
"100 North Korean Bank Accounts to be Frozen by U.S.A." UK Today News
"North Korea Threatens Physical Response to U.S. Drills" Fox News
"US Sanctions Against North Korea Provoke Chinese Anger" Telegraph.co.uk
Kevin Ozment - "Mother told me there would be strange days but, good grief, she never said they would be like these!" . Kevin is now an Inside Journeyman ...
