Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Tension high on Korean peninsula amid military drills
Mon Mar 9, 2009 1:49am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean troops began annual military drills on Monday and North Korea said it had put its armed forces on full combat readiness in response to the exercises, heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea, which is preparing to test-fire its longest-range ballistic missile, also said it would regard the shooting down of any of its rockets as an act of war.
The North Korean army said in a statement the drills were a "provocation" that would only occur "on the eve of a war," and cut off a telephone hotline with the South's military.
Pyongyang regularly accuses the United States and South Korea of aggressive intentions before the exercises, which have been held for years without major incident.
But North Korean media has been more strident about these drills, which come as Pyongyang is making preparations to test-fire its Taepodong-2 missile and at a time of speculation about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
North Korea has repeatedly said it is preparing to launch a satellite as part of a peaceful space program.
"Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war," a spokesman for the North's Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
Last week the unpredictable state said it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean civilian aircraft flying near its airspace. That forced several airliners to alter their routes.
The military drills are scheduled to run until March 20, and are longer and on a greater scale than in previous years.
The aim is to test the defensive readiness of U.S. and South Korean forces ahead of the transfer of war-time command from the U.S. to the South Korean military in the next several years.
Troops are being mobilized throughout South Korea, including Marines who will conduct live-fire drills north of Seoul, which is less than two hours drive from North Korea. A U.S. aircraft carrier will take part in the exercises, the U.S. military said.
South Korea urged its secretive neighbor to reopen the military hotline immediately, while financial markets in Seoul brushed off the latest saber-rattling by Pyongyang as little more than rhetoric.
"Unless more drastic actions are taken by the North, such as a missile test, investors will remain unfazed by these issues," said Yoo Soo-min, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.
South Korea, Japan and the United States have said they see no difference between a satellite and a missile launch because they use the same technology and the same rocket. The North is barred from launching a ballistic missile under U.N. sanctions.
KIM GETS 100 PERCENT VOTER SUPPORT Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Q+A: Why is North Korea making more threats?
"Never waste a good crisis"
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience of young Europeans that the current economic crisis was a golden opportunity to take action on climate change, highlighting opportunities to rebuild greener economies. Full Article | Video
Tongue-tied Clinton gets warm EU welcome
Clinton seeks to press reset button on Russia ties
More International News
Police hunt Real IRA after British soldiers killed
| Video
Iran test-fires new missile: media
Sudan frees Islamist opposition leader
EU finance ministers to back doubling of IMF funds at G20
China strengthens Tibet frontier to deter unrest
More International News...
Related News
N.Korea forces on alert for U.S.-S.Korea exercises
08 Mar 2009
Q+A: Why is North Korea making more threats?
1:49am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
"Watchmen" falls short of expected box office take
UPDATE 2-Pressure may mount to know who got AIG bailout blns
Who got AIG's bailout billions?
EU backs IMF fund boost as economic gloom deepens
U.S. healthcare system pinched by nursing shortage
Developing world may need $700 billion -World Bank
Lights go down on Circuit City stores
Wall St dumps film deals on Hollywood investors
Clinton tells how she fell for Bill "long ago"
Protesters target U.S. foreclosed-homes auctioneer
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Soldiers shot dead in N Ireland
Thousands flee cyclone Hamish
Ex-Israel head faces rape charge
Financial service 'irregularity'
Clinton: "Never waste a good crisis"
Dalai Lama 50 years in exile
Is anybody out there ?
Indian kids love python pets
Baghdad police attacked, many killed
Family of Morales critic 'attacked'
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
Setback for America’s pro-Israel hawks
Bernd Debusmann
There are signs that the influence of Washington's right-wing pro-Israel lobby might be waning under the administration of President Obama. Commentary
Follow Bernd Debusmann on Twitter
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.