[Editorial] Calm down, two Koreas

Posted on : 2012-04-24 11:47 KST Modified on : 2012-04-24 11:47 KST

North and South Korea are having quite a clash of strong emotions. Now the special operations action unit in the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Supreme Command has made an “announcement” to South Korea that is, for all intents and purposes, a declaration of war. It threatened, “special actions that, once initiated, will in three to four minutes, or indeed less time than that, wipe out all the gangs of rats and the roots of provocation in roaring flames through special means that have not been seen before, and through [North Korea’s] own style of methods.”
It said the target of this action would be, “Lee Myung-bak and his traitorous group of rats, who along with the conservative media are chewing away at the pillars of public trust.” The team also stressed that it never issues empty words. The only word for this is “chilling.” We urge North Korea to act with a cool head and restraint.
These remarks from North Korea are much more hostile than those of the past, and more specific in their details. Previously, Pyongyang went no further than to call the Lee administration “traitorous” or a “gang of traitors,” but the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (North Korea’s agency dedicated to South Korean issues) referred to the President insultingly as a “rat” in a statement Saturday, a first for that organization. The term was used no fewer than four times in the special operations action team announcement yesterday. Hostility is one thing, but this is a crude insult against a head of state. Also of note is the fact that the announcement came not from the KPA Supreme Command generally but from its special operations action unit. From its name, this unit would appear to be a special team meant to carry out operations. By making the announcement through this unit, North Korea appears to be showing its willingness to move beyond words and into action.
This latest hard-line statement from the North may have been intended to establish firm footing for the regime of Kim Jong-un, who became the full-fledged leader of the country’s party, government, and armed forces following an Apr. 11 WPK representatives’ meeting, the Apr. 13 rocket launch and Supreme People’s Assembly meeting, and the Apr. 15 military parade to commemorate Kim Il-sung’s birthday. Pyongyang may also have found itself in a bind with its new regime after the failure of the launch, the abdication of its Feb. 29 agreement with Washington, and resulting pressure from the international community. This, combined with provocative remarks on North Korea by President Lee during an Apr. 16 radio broadcast, Apr. 19 Agency for Defense Development visit and missile video unveiling, and Apr. 20 special talk for the Institute for Unification Education’s advanced program, appears to be what set off the outburst of angst.
Now that the North has given a specific plan of operation, the government should focus its energies on taking thorough steps for alertness and readiness to ensure that nothing unfortunate happens. And the authorities, including President Lee, need to be cautious to avoid saying anything public to provoke Pyongyang. North Korea, for its part, needs to understand that its emotional response in no way helps the stability of its regime or the development of inter-Korean relations. We hope North and South alike exercise restraint so that the war of words does not escalate into a physical clash.
 
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