 |
| ▲ Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (L, top row) presides over a video conference with operation commanders of Army, Navy and Air Force units on Nov. 2, 2023, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
defense chief-N Korea
N. Korea could stage provocations to divert domestic attention: defense chief
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense minister called Thursday for heightened military readiness to brace for any possible North Korean provocation meant to divert domestic attention from the nation's food crisis.
North Korea has launched a flurry of ballistic missile tests since last year, including a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in April and July. It also made two failed attempts to put a military spy satellite into orbit earlier this year.
"There is a high possibility that North Korea could carry out provocations to divert internal complaints related to its food shortage and economic crisis to the outside world," Shin Won-sik said during a virtual conference with operations commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The comments came as Hamas' surprise rocket attack on Israel renewed concerns in South Korea over Seoul's capabilities to counter a potential attack from North Korea.
North Korea is estimated to operate some 340 long-range artillery pieces, which directly target the greater Seoul area, home to about half of the country's 51.5 million people.
Shin said the South Korean military should shift its posture from "defensive" to "offensive" to fend off a more hostile North Korea, in his thinly veiled attack against the 2018 inter-Korean military reduction agreement he has repeatedly criticized since taking office last month.
The Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed under former liberal President Moon Jae-in amid a reconciliatory mood, calls for setting up maritime buffer zones that ban artillery firing and naval drills to prevent clashes in the intensely guarded region.
"Although some believed North Korea could change, it turned out to be total fantasy and false belief," Shin said. "While the enemy has never changed, we have unilaterally been on the defensive."
During a parliamentary audit last week, Shin estimated the number of Pyongyang's violations of the 2018 accord near the northwestern islands around 3,600, which includes 110 firings of artillery shells and some 3,400 minor violations related to leaving gun ports and port holes of coastal artillery open.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
