Tensions over Korean naval clash heighten
Tensions over Korean naval clash heighten
Thursday, 12, Nov 2009 09:50
By Richard James.
The fallout from a naval clash between North and South Korea has continued today with Pyongyang warning its southern neighbour it faces "costly consequences".
On Tuesday a South Korean warship fired at a North Korean navy ship after claiming it had entered South Korean waters.
The North Korean vessel is said to have fired back but sustained serious damage in the incident and was forced to return to northern waters.
On Thursday, a commentary in the north's state-owned Minju Joson newspaper warned the south would face consequences as a result of the clash, but did not specify what they may be.
The clash is reported to have resulted in the death of at least one North Korean soldier and has once again stoked fresh tensions between the two nations.
The two Koreas are still to agree on their sea border more than 50 years after the end of their 1950-53 war.
Last month Pyongyang accused the south of entering its territory in waters off the west coast and warned of future conflict.
Another editorial published today, in the north's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, blamed the naval clash on a "conspiracy" by South Korea's military to increase tensions in the region.
Washington has attempted to play down the clash with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton saying: "We are certainly counselling calm and caution when it comes to any type of dispute, especially ones that cause repercussions and damage that could be quite difficult to contend with."
North Korea has continued to court controversy for the majority of this year, carrying out underground nuclear tests in the summer as well as test-firing a series of short-range missiles.
The recent military action has been seen by some as an attempt by the communist state's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il, reportedly beset by health problems, to secure his succession.
His youngest son Kim Jong-un, 25, is his father's choice to assume control of the chairmanship of the country's national defence commission, its top military and political body.