N Korea confirms end of 60-year armistice
14 March 2013 8:07 AM IST
North Korea confirmed on Wednesday that it had shredded the 60-year-old armistice ending the Korean War, and warned that the next step was an act of ‘merciless’ military retaliation against its enemies.
A lengthy statement by the North’s armed forces ministry added to the tide of dire threats flowing from Pyongyang in recent days that have raised military tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest level for years.
The statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency argued that the real ‘warmongering’ was coming from the United States and its ‘puppets’ in Seoul.
‘They would be well advised to keep in mind that the armistice agreement is no longer valid and (North Korea) is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression,’ a ministry spokesman said.
‘What is left to be done now is an action of justice and merciless retaliation of the army and people’ of North Korea, the spokesman said. The North announced last week that it would nullify the 1953 armistice and peace pacts signed with Seoul in protest over joint South Korea-US military manoeuvres that began on Monday. Because the Korean War was concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas have always remained technically at war.
Voiding the ceasefire theoretically opens the way to a resumption of hostilities, although observers note this is far from the first time that North Korea has announced the demise of the armistice.
The armistice was approved by the UN General Assembly, and both the United Nations and South Korea have repudiated the North's unilateral withdrawal.
‘The terms of the armistice agreement do not allow either side, unilaterally, to free themselves from it,’ said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky. The North has also threatened to launch nuclear strikes.
INTER-KOREAN MILITARY HOTLINE OPEN
A military hotline between North and South Korea is still operating, a South official said on Wednesday after Pyongyang cut a separate government link amid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.
In protest at the launch of a joint South Korea-US military exercise, North Korea on Monday severed the Red Cross hotline used by the two governments to communicate in the absence of diplomatic relations.But a South Korean presidential spokeswoman said another hotline installed near the west coast in 2000 and used by the nations’ rival militaries had been left intact.
‘The military communication is working normally and we will seek to convey any message to the North via the channel when necessary,’ the spokeswoman said.North announced it was also scrapping the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War.
A lengthy statement by the North’s armed forces ministry added to the tide of dire threats flowing from Pyongyang in recent days that have raised military tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest level for years.
The statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency argued that the real ‘warmongering’ was coming from the United States and its ‘puppets’ in Seoul.
‘They would be well advised to keep in mind that the armistice agreement is no longer valid and (North Korea) is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression,’ a ministry spokesman said.
‘What is left to be done now is an action of justice and merciless retaliation of the army and people’ of North Korea, the spokesman said. The North announced last week that it would nullify the 1953 armistice and peace pacts signed with Seoul in protest over joint South Korea-US military manoeuvres that began on Monday. Because the Korean War was concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas have always remained technically at war.
Voiding the ceasefire theoretically opens the way to a resumption of hostilities, although observers note this is far from the first time that North Korea has announced the demise of the armistice.
The armistice was approved by the UN General Assembly, and both the United Nations and South Korea have repudiated the North's unilateral withdrawal.
‘The terms of the armistice agreement do not allow either side, unilaterally, to free themselves from it,’ said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky. The North has also threatened to launch nuclear strikes.
INTER-KOREAN MILITARY HOTLINE OPEN
A military hotline between North and South Korea is still operating, a South official said on Wednesday after Pyongyang cut a separate government link amid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.
In protest at the launch of a joint South Korea-US military exercise, North Korea on Monday severed the Red Cross hotline used by the two governments to communicate in the absence of diplomatic relations.But a South Korean presidential spokeswoman said another hotline installed near the west coast in 2000 and used by the nations’ rival militaries had been left intact.
‘The military communication is working normally and we will seek to convey any message to the North via the channel when necessary,’ the spokeswoman said.North announced it was also scrapping the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War.
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