The analysis has been proposed that North Korea initiating the testing of a large quantity of coastal missile in the West Sea immediately after the beginning of the joint U.S.-South Korea “Key Resolve” exercise on the 2nd reflects the North’s will to create a tension-filled situation between North and South Korea.
Yonhap News cited a military source, reporting on the 5th, “North Korea, immediately after the 2nd, test-fired coastal missiles into the West Sea. According to a North Korean source, North Korea has tested newly-developed missiles in the West Sea before, but such a large-scale missile test had not taken place after the West Sea Battle, which occurred in June 29, 2002 between the South and North patrol boats.”
The most recent missile test seems to be related to North Korea’s strong criticism of the U.S.-Korea joint military exercises “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle.”
A spokesperson for the North Korean Army’s Panmunjom Mission warned both the U.S. and South Korea on the 2nd, “We will cope with it by all the measures which we have gathered at a heavy cost. All subsequent responsibility will entirely be borne by the U.S. and its servile elements.”
Experts on North Korea analyzed that heightened level of criticism of South Korea which has incorporated terminology such as “All measures which we have gathered at a heavy price” hints at nuclear weapons and is something to be watched.
Related to this, former Secretary of Defense of South Korea Kim Jang Soo even gave warnings to the Joint Chief of Staffs and the Army chief executives before his retirement from office regarding the possibility of North Korea’s provocation, “If North Korea does provoke, it will be in the direction of the West Sea.”
An upper-level related person of the South Korean Army explained, “Former Minister Kim, based on his experience thus far, has evaluated that the possibility of North Korea’s provocation in the first half of this year is high and that the elevated level of criticism by North Korea of the U.S.-South Korea joint exercises, in comparison to the other years, can be seen as an element of the justification for provocation.”
Song Dae Sung, a top researcher at the Sejong Research Institute analyzed, “From North Korea’s position, the Lee Myung Bak administration putting forward denuclearization, opening, and human rights after embarking in office is probably very irritating. It is deliberately creating a tension-filled situation in order to derive the public opinion in the South that North-South Korea relations and the cooperative exchange which took place these last 10 years have not been going well since the Lee administration took office.
He added, “By driving home the point that the Lee Myung Bak administration is blocking North-South Korea relations, its strategy seems to be to cast the North’s influence in the upcoming April elections in the South.”
One international policy researcher, who requested anonymity, discussed, “North Korea, related to the recent nuclear declaration issue, has been receiving a significant amount of pressure from international society. Through the military demonstrations, it seems to be to trying to blur the focus on the nuclear issue.”
North Korea has strongly resisted the strong urgings made by the South Korean administration for the North to improve its human rights situation at the UN Human Rights Committee held in Geneva on the 3rd.
North Korean delegate Choi Myung Nam refuted, “South Korea should bear the burden of its irresponsible statement which has brought about such a negative result in North-South Korea relations. South Korea’s statement plants strong misgivings about whether or not its administration is aware of the contents and mindset of the agreement at the Inter-Korea Summit Talks, especially agreements for nonintervention and for cooperation on international stage.”
