DPRK accuses U.S. of goading S. Korea into provocation
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday accused the United States of goading South Korea into provoking it, the official news agency KCNA reported.
South Korea's plan to hold firing drills again on Yonphyong Island was an "intolerable tease" and "absolutely unfair bellicose provocation," a spokesman for DPRK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
The move would lead the situation on the peninsula to an explosion and bring about tragic disasters if it broke the bottom, he said.
The DPRK has sent warnings that provocateurs who infringe on its sovereignty and territory would be punished "firmly and unmercifully." It is not empty talk, the spokesman said.
He pointed out that the United States should be blamed for South Korea's manipulation over the second shelling incident, as it has openly supported the provocation of South Korea and threatened the DPRK over its defense measures, ignoring opposition from neighboring countries and the international community.
The United States also sent its forces stationed in South Korea to directly take part in the drill and organized Americans and foreign journalists to go to the drill ground as "human shields."
All of this indicated that the United States sacrificed the peace and safety of other countries to guarantee its own strategic interests. The DPRK declared to reckon with the United States for the extreme situation and consequences herewith.
South Korean declared Dec. 16 that a live fire artillery drill would be held in waters south-west of Yonphyong Island near the disputed maritime border on a selected day from Dec. 18-21, depending on weather conditions.
The situation on the peninsula has been getting tense since the exchange of artillery fire on Nov. 23 between South Korea and the DPRK, which killed four people.
No matter where the firing was directed, all of the shells would fall into the DPRK's territorial waters, as Yonphyong Island is in the territorial waters of the DPRK, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Nov. 24.
