South Korea orders reinforcements

25/11/2010| IslamWeb

North Korea says it will launch more attacks against South Korea if it continues to make "reckless military provocations", state media has said.

"[North Korea] will wage second and even third rounds of attacks without any hesitation, if warmongers in South Korea make reckless military provocations again," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a statement from the military as saying.

The two warring neighbors on Tuesday traded artillery fire over South Korea's Yeonpyeong island close to their disputed maritime border, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.

The latest warning comes as Pyongyang rejected a proposal by the US-led United Nations Command in South Korea for general officer-level talks to ease tension on the peninsula following an artillery attack on Tuesday.

"North Korea appears to have rejected the proposal on the ground that there's nothing much it could gain from the talks," South Korea's Yonhap news agency earlier quoted a Seoul government official as saying.

Security review

The US has said that it believes North Korea's actions as an isolated incident tied to leadership changes in Pyongyang.

On Thursday Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president, and security advisors held urgent meetings in Seoul to discuss the security and economic impact of the attack.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reporting from Seoul said senior officials agreed that the government’s reaction to the North's shelling may have been too passive and have military reinforcement on islands off the country’s west coast.

"The government received a lot of criticism on exactly how they retaliated… many groups in South Korea say it was not a strong enough a reaction to an attack on civilians," our correspondent said.

"South Korea has decided to re-evaluate the rules of engagement and draw a distinction between attacks against South Korean military targets and civilians."

The civilian deaths have added to anger in South Korea.

China 'reaction'

The South Korean foreign ministry announced on Thursday that Yang Jiechi, the Chinese foreign minister, had postponed a planned visit to Seoul this week.

It is seen as a setback for Seoul as it had planned to pursue constructive engagement with China to help rein in North Korea,

The ministry said in a statement that both countries plan to set a new date for Yang's visit which was reportedly put on hold due to "schedule issues".

China has said previously that it sees any joint South Korea-US exercises in the waters between the Korean peninsula and China as a threat to its security and to regional stability.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Joongang Daily said Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, and his son and successor Jong-un, visited the artillery base from where shells were fired just hours before the attack.

The daily said father and son had met General Kim Kyok-sik, the commander of the frontline fourth corps in charge of a navy base in South Hwanghae province, just before the attack.

PHOTO CAPTION

North Korea's Gaemeori base, where its artillery is deployed, is seen in this picture taken from South Korea's Yeonpyeong island and released November 25, 2010.

Al-Jazeera