Tension continue to mount between North and South Korea as North Korea said the South had staged a surprise attack on its navy to provoke
a response and undermine relations during soccer's World Cup. The statement follows yesterday’s sea battle which the South's top military officer warned could have triggered an all-out war.
The official North Korean news agency, KCNA, quoted a navy spokesman as saying the South's demand for an apology for the incident on Saturday, in which four South Korean sailors died, was "the height of impudence".
"The serious military provocation made by the South Korean military authorities is aimed to orchestrate a shocking incident at a time when the World Cup is going and shift the blame for it on to the DPRK (North Korea)," the spokesman said.
A South Korean destroyer and other navy boats today patrolled near the disputed maritime frontier where yesterday’s gunbattle left four South Korean sailors dead, one missing and 19 wounded, many of whom are understood to have been seriously wounded.
North Korea admitted it had suffered losses but did not give details. A top South Korean military official claimed at least 30 North Korean sailors were killed or wounded.
The United States and other nations expressed concern but the South's President Kim Dae-Jung went ahead with a visit to Japan despite the blow to his "Sunshine Policy" of peaceful engagement with the communist North.
Kim put the South Korean army on high alert but attended World Cup final in Japan.
The North has rejected the South's demands for an apology and Seoul newspapers and political parties demanded the government take strong counter measures.
Kim's "Sunshine Policy" has faced growing criticism as the North has failed to follow up on peace initiatives since a historic summit with Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang two years ago.
The battle also caused international concern.
The White House said it was also closely watching events. "Naval skirmishes have happened in the past. They are always a matter of concern, and we're monitoring the situation," said Ari Fleischer, President George W. Bush's spokesman.
China and Japan have also expressed strong concern and called for measures to reduce tensions.
AFP,