US-S.Korea navy exercises start as islanders take refuge

来源：百度文库编辑：神马文学网时间：2024/04/28 02:09:28

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2010-11-28 17:36

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2010-11-28 17:36

The United States and South Korea staged a potent show of naval strength Sunday as residents of a border island bombarded last week by North Korea scurried for shelter for fear of a new attack.

The defence ministry urged hundreds of journalists to leave Yeonpyeong island, saying the North may use the war games being held far to the south as the pretext for a new attack on it.

The drill, spearheaded by the massive US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the George Washington, aims to send a message of deterrence to the North but has sparked strong criticism from Pyongyang's ally China.

Advertisement: Story continues below The South's President Lee Myung-Bak, faced with public fury at the North over the second military crisis in eight months, said China must be fairer in its dealings with the two Koreas.

At a meeting with visiting State Councillor Dai Bingguo, he asked China to take "a fairer and more responsible stance in its relations with the two Koreas", the presidential office said.

China has failed so far to join other world powers in condemning the bombardment, which killed two civilians and two marines and set numerous homes ablaze.

But on Sunday Beijing called for an emergency meeting in early December of envoys to the six-nation talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament.

"The Chinese side, after careful study, proposes to have emergency consultations among the heads of delegation to the six-party talks in early December in Beijing to exchange views on major issues of concern to the parties at present," said Wu Dawei, China's representative to the stalled talks.

Wu stressed that the consultations did not constitute a formal resumption of the six-nation negotiations.

Lee said Seoul "would respond strongly if the North makes any additional provocation", his office added.

A senior North Korean official will visit China this week, Xinhua news agency reported. It said parliament chairman Choe Thae-Bok would arrive Tuesday and leave Saturday but gave no details.

Pyongyang says it shelled the island in retaliation for a South Korean firing drill in what it regards as its own waters around the contested border. It expressed regret Saturday at the civilian deaths but said the South had used them as human shields.

The North "will deal a merciless military counter-attack at any provocative act of intruding into its territorial waters in the future, too," ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said on Sunday.

"A club is the best thing for a mad dog," Pyongyang's official news agency said of the US-South Korean naval drill, echoing a comment made about its own regime by a South Korean newspaper.

"Aggressors will feel the taste of it... We are ready to respond even to something stronger than anti-submarine ships."

The drill, involving at least 11 ships, is one of a series announced in May, after a Seoul-led multinational investigation found overwhelming evidence that a North Korean torpedo had sunk a South Korean warship in March.

That sinking cost 46 lives. But Tuesday's artillery and rocket bombardment of a civilian-populated area was seen as more shocking.

With tensions acutely high, people on the island were briefly ordered to shelter in bunkers after explosions were heard from the direction of North Korea.

Faint sounds of explosions -- possibly artillery fire -- were heard several times, the defence ministry said. No rounds fell in the South's territory.

Yonhap news agency, quoting a government source, said the North had deployed surface-to-air missiles near the border. The defence ministry declined to comment.

President Lee, who will make a televised speech on the crisis at 10 am Monday (0100 GMT), has come under pressure to take a tougher line after his military's counter-fire last week was seen as feeble.

The defence minister quit on Thursday to take responsibility.

The United States insists that the drill is defensive in nature and was planned long before the attack, but says it is intended to send a message of deterrence to the North.

It is led by the USS George Washington, which can carry about 75 aircraft on its 1.8 hectare (4.5 acre) flight deck and has a crew of 5,500.

Also taking part on the US side was an embarked carrier air wing and vessels the USS Cowpens, Lassen, Stethem and Fitzgerald.

Six South Korean warships, including a 7,600-ton Aegis-class destroyer, two 4,500-ton destroyers and frigates, as well as anti-submarine aircraft were joining the drill, the military in Seoul said.

The drill will also involve a high-flying US JSTARS (joint surveillance and target attack system) surveillance aircraft to monitor the North's military moves, Yonhap reported.

Some 20 left-leaning activists rallied outside a South Korean naval base at Pyeongtaek in protest at the exercise.

"Stop the Korea-US drill that causes vicious cycle of retaliation and confrontation!" read one banner. A few protesters loudly argued with grim-faced soldiers guarding the base gate.

Sydney Morning Herald

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