hankyoreh

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, Staff Writer

The South Korean military conduced a live-fire artillery exercise on Yeonpyeong Island on Monday. The North Korean military, which had previously warned of retaliation in such a case, did not respond militarily, so no direct armed clash took place between the two Koreas. The possibility of additional North Korean provocations is not going away, however, so it appears inter-Korean military confrontation and tensions will continue for the time being.

The South Korean military carried out a live-fire drill for 84 minutes, from 2:30 to 4:04 p.m., during which it aimed at an area of sea southwest of Yeonpyeong Island. A military official said they fired off the remaining rounds that they were unable to fire during the Nov. 23 drill. During that drill, a total of 3,657 shells of 11 different kinds, including high-explosives from the K-9 self-propelled artillery pieces, were fired from Yeonpyeong Island from 10:15 a.m., but the drill was terminated due to North Korea’s artillery attack at 2:34 p.m.

The North Korean military strengthened its defense posture along the West Sea coast and put its forces on alert during the time of the South Korean drill, but no unusual movements were detected around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), said the Joint Chiefs of Staff. United States Forces Korea (USFK) forces deployed to Yeonpyeong Island will reportedly stay to watch North Korean movements and in case of additional North Korean provocations.

Meanwhile, CNN and the New York Times reported Monday that North Korea has agreed to a series of measures to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including permitting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to return to the Yongbyon facility.

Journalists from the two media, who accompanied New Mexico governor Bill Richardson on his unofficial visit to North Korea, reported that North Korea had agreed with Richardson to make two important concessions to restart the six-party talks, which have been suspended for two years.

One concession was to allow an IAEA inspection team back to Yongbyon to ensure that the recently revealed uranium enrichment facility is not used for weapons production, and the other was a willingness to sell some 12,000 used nuclear fuel rods to a third country.

The two media reported that North Korea also agreed to Richardson’s proposal to create a military commission with the participation of North Korea, South Korea and the United States, as well as to install a military hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul.

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