A barrage of artillery fire between North and South
Korea across disputed maritime borders on Monday
marked an annual show of force by North Korea
intent on sending a message to the U.S. as it
conducts military exercises nearby.
North Korea’s missile launches into the Yellow
(West) Sea followed by a threat of live-fire drills
along the border “was really aimed at our
policymakers, Republic of Korea policymakers and
Japan,” said Bruce Bechtol, a Korea specialist and
professor of political science at Angelo State
University in Texas.
“North Korea is saying, ‘You can do all the exercises
you want and we have the ability to hit you at a
moment’s notice,'” Bechtol said.
The U.S. and South Korea routinely conduct joint
military exercises in the border areas, usually each
year in February and March. The most recent
exercise began March 27.
The North Koreans said they believe the exercises
are meant to intimidate them and often react with
some show of force, Bechtol said.
North Korea fired more than 500 rounds of artillery
shells over three hours, forcing some residents of
South Korean islands to seek shelter in bunkers,
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim
Min-seok said.
Last week, North Korea launched Rodong ballistic
missiles, which have the range to hit Tokyo or U.S.
bases in Okinawa, Japan. Those launches drew
condemnation from the United Nations Security
Council on Friday.
South Korea responded to the rocket launches on
Monday by scrambling F-15K fighter jets and
lobbing 300 shells into North Korean waters.
“This is always a dangerous time of year on the
peninsula,” said Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the U.S.
Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of
Advanced International Studies. “There’s a danger
here that it may get worse.”
Firing rounds into South Korea’s territorial water
goes beyond North Korea’s usual responses. North
Korea fired into the water to avoid casualties but
still mark its territory and show its willingness to
respond with force, Bechtol said.
“This is just short of a violent provocation,” Bechtol
said. “The intention this time is to stir the pot. ”
North Korea, in a statement published by the state
news agency, called the drills necessary self-
defense “to cope with the grave situation created
by the U.S. hostile policy.”
The country said it would respond with its own
drills, including missiles aimed at “medium and
long-rang targets with a variety of striking power,”
and would consider a fourth nuclear test.
North Korea “is fully ready for next-stage steps
which the enemy can hardly imagine in case the
U.S. considers them as a ‘provocation’ again,” the
statement said. “It would not rule out a new form of
nuclear test for bolstering up its nuclear
deterrence. The U.S. had better ponder over this
and stop acting rashly.”
North and South Korea have skirmished over the
disputed sea boundary before. In 2010, a torpedo
attack sank a South Korean warship, killing 46
sailors. Later that year, North Korean artillery killed
four people living on an island.
Source : USA Today News
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