Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




NUKEWARS
North, South Korea trade live fire over sea border
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) March 31, 2014


The two Koreas traded hundreds of rounds of live artillery fire across their disputed maritime border Monday, forcing South Korean islanders to take shelter a day after the North drove up tensions by threatening a new nuclear test.

The exchange, triggered by a three-hour North Korean live-fire exercise that dropped shells into South Korean waters, was limited to untargeted shelling into the sea, military officials said.

South Korea's defence ministry said the North fired some 500 shells during the drill, around 100 of them landing on the south side of the sea boundary.

The ministry said the South had responded to Pyongyang's "premeditated provocation" by firing 300 shells from K-9 self-propelled howitzer batteries based on its front-line islands.

"If the North takes issue with our legitimate returning of fire and uses it to make yet another provocation towards our sea and islands, we will make a resolute retaliation," ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said.

The United States denounced North Korea's artillery fire, with the White House and the Pentagon accusing Pyongyang of "dangerous" behavior.

"The provocation that the North Koreans have once again engaged in is dangerous and it needs to stop," Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told reporters in Washington.

Hagel said the North's actions would be "a subject that I will discuss with my counterpart in China" during a tour of Asia over the next two weeks.

Analysts said the incident, coming a day after Pyongyang threatened to conduct a "new" type of nuclear test, was largely a sign of the North's growing frustration with US resistance to resuming multi-party talks on its nuclear programme.

"I don't see that this ran any real risk of escalating into a serious clash," said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"It's really North Korea showing it intends to keep the pressure on to resume a dialogue," Yang said.

Pyongyang sees the nuclear negotiations as an opportunity to win material concessions and aid from the international community.

The South Korean stock market shrugged off the incident, with the main Kospi index closing up 0.23 percent at 1,985.61.

- Unusual advance warning -

The North had ensured maximum publicity for its live-fire drill by taking the unusual step of notifying the South beforehand, and issuing a provocative no-sail, no-fly advisory.

The exercise began at 12:15pm (0315 GMT) and South Korea, which had threatened to respond if any shells crossed the border, retaliated shortly afterwards, the defence ministry said.

As a precaution, border island residents were evacuated to shelters, as South Korean fighter jets flew overhead. The evacuation order was lifted an hour after the North ended its drill.

In November 2010, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong island just south of the sea boundary, killing four people and triggering concerns of a full-scale conflict.

China, the North's key ally, expressed concern and urged the two Koreas to exercise restraint.

"Currently there are raised tensions on the Korean peninsula, and we are concerned about this. We hope relevant parties exercise restraint," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

Pyongyang has carried out a series of rocket and short-range missile launches in recent weeks, in a pointed protest at ongoing annual South Korea-US military exercises.

Monday's incident coincided with a massive, amphibious landing drill by nearly 15,000 South Korean and US troops.

Last week, the North upped the ante by test-firing two mid-range ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan.

The UN Security Council condemned the launches, and Pyongyang responded with its threat of a new type of nuclear test -- a possible reference to testing a uranium-based device or a miniaturised warhead small enough to fit on a ballistic missile.

North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests, the most recent -- and most powerful -- in February last year.

Most experts believe it is still some way from mastering the technology required to build a miniaturised warhead -- a development that would be seen as a game-changer in assessing the North's nuclear arms capabilities.

- 'Severe cost' for nuclear test -

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se warned Monday that the North would pay a "severe cost" if it went ahead with another test in defiance of UN sanctions.

North-South tensions have been rising for weeks, undermining hopes raised after the North in February hosted the first reunion for more than three years of families separated by the war.

As well as the annual South Korean-US military drills, the North has been angered by efforts to bring Pyongyang before the UN Security Council over a UN report detailing Pyongyang's record of systematic human rights abuse.

In a new bid to coordinate policy, the State Department announced that Robert King, the US special envoy for human rights in North Korea, would visit South Korea and Japan starting Wednesday.

jhw-lim-gh-ddl-sct/dc

.


Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





NUKEWARS
NKorea won't rule out new nuke test; First first formal talks with Japan
Seoul (AFP) March 30, 2014
North Korea vowed not to rule out a "new form" of nuclear test Sunday after the UN Security Council condemned its latest ballistic missile launch amid simmering tensions over Seoul's joint military drills with Washington. Pyongyang has carried out a series of rocket and short-range missile launches in recent weeks which have prompted stern reactions from South Korea and the United States. ... read more


NUKEWARS
Unique camera from NASA's moon missions sold at auction

Expeditions to the Moon: beware of meteorites

A Wet Moon

ASU camera creates stunning mosaic of moon's polar region

NUKEWARS
Mars-mimicking chamber explores habitability of other planets

Helpful Wind Cleans Solar Panels On Opportunity Mars Rover

NASA Mars Rover's Next Stop Has Sandstone Variations

Mars on Earth: vacuum chambers mimic the Red Planet

NUKEWARS
You've got mail: Clinton-to-space laptop up for auction

The NASA Z-2 Spacesuit Design Vote

E3-production - sustainable manufacturing

NASA Seeks Collaborative Partnerships With Commercial Space

NUKEWARS
Tiangong's New Mission

"Space Odyssey": China's aspiration in future space exploration

China to launch first "space shuttle bus" this year

China expects to launch cargo ship into space around 2016

NUKEWARS
Technical hitch delays US-Russia crew's ISS docking

New ISS Crew Wrapping Up Training for Launch

How astronauts survive diplomatic tensions in space

NASA Extends Lockheed Martin Contract to Support ISS

NUKEWARS
NASA Seeks Suborbital Flight Proposals

Arianespace Launches ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A

SpaceX Launch to the ISS Reset for March 30

Ariane 5 hardware arrives for next ATV mission

NUKEWARS
Space Sunflower May Help Snap Pictures of Planets

NRL Researchers Detect Water Around a Hot Jupiter

UK joins the planet hunt with Europe's PLATO mission

X-ray laser FLASH spies deep into giant gas planets

NUKEWARS
China's rare earth trade limits break global rules: WTO

Big Data keeps complex production running smoothly

Shock-absorbing 'goo' discovered in bone

Recovering valuable substances from wastewater




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.