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SKorea preparing for possible NKorean provocations
By JAESOON CHANG,Associated Press Writer AP - Thursday, December 4
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea said Wednesday it is preparing for the possibility of North Korea provoking a naval skirmish around their disputed sea border amid rapidly worsening relations between the two sides.
Tension on the divided peninsula has been running high, with North Korea restricting traffic through its land border with the South in protest against what it calls Seoul's "confrontational" policies.
The restrictions forced the suspension of two landmark reconciliation projects, and a sharp cutback in the number of South Koreans working at an industrial complex in the North _ a blow to a decade of rapprochement efforts between the neighbors.
Analysts have warned that Pyongyang could take further steps to escalate tensions, such as shutting down the factory park or instigating naval skirmishes around their disputed sea border, to pressure the South's conservative government to soften its policy toward the North.
In Seoul the Defense Ministry reported to Parliament on Wednesday that it is preparing for the possibility of North Korea launching attacks on naval ships or seizing South Korean fishing boats.
The defense report said the South Korean military is barring navy vessels and fishing boats from engaging in any activity that could give the communist neighbor a "pretext for provocation."
A ministry official said the report does not mean there are any concrete signs that the North is preparing such provocations but that it simply stresses the need for the military's preparedness for any situation. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
The western sea border has been a constant source of military tension between the two Koreas still technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
North Korea does not recognize the boundary, drawn by the United Nations at the end of the conflict, and claims the line should be redrawn further south.
The disagreement led to two deadly skirmishes in the disputed waters in 1999 and 2002.
Ties between the Koreas had warmed significantly under Seoul's two previous liberal presidents, but froze again this year after conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in February with a vow to take a tougher approach to Pyongyang.
Lee has questioned key accords his predecessors struck with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il that call for providing aid to the North without condition. That and other moves by Seoul, including its recent sponsorship of a U.N. resolution denouncing North Korea's human rights record, have enraged the North.
Pyongyang accuses Lee of seeking confrontation.
South Korea's foreign minister reiterated Wednesday that Seoul is seeking engagement and dialogue _ not confrontation.
"We have no intention to undermine North Korea, nor are we still trapped in an ideological pitfall of the Cold War era" he said. "And we have been trying to promote genuine dialogue with North Korea to realize mutual benefit and common prosperity."
But he said Pyongyang has embarked on a "slanderous" campaign against Lee and has cut off all channels for dialogue in addition to taking such measures as restricting border traffic.
___
Associated Press writer Jean H. Lee contributed to this report.
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