| Pyongyang fears refusal of 1953 truce Washington's planned imposition of sanctions against the DPRK and the Americans' increase in their presence on the peninsula may prompt Pyongyang to withdraw from the 1953 armistice, which ended the bloody war and led to the split of Korea. North Korean authorities believe that with these measures the United States is preparing a blockade of the DPRK, which is prohibited by the armistice agreement. If the United States imposes a blockade, North Korea will withdraw from the agreement, a representative of the Korean People's Army (KPA) said yesterday in the demilitarized zone separating the two Korean states.
At a new stage in the aggravation of the Korean crisis, Pyongyang called the armistice agreement “a document that has no force or significance.” Half a century ago, it was this document that put an end to a three-year war in which the South Korean army and the US expeditionary force operating under the UN flag fought against the KPA and the Chinese volunteers who supported it. Particularly sharp criticism from North Korea was caused by the placing of American bombers on high alert, the crews of which, according to Pyongyang, have already been assigned targets in the DPRK. During the last war, the American Air Force turned North Korean cities into desert.
The KPA representative equated the US intention to inspect and seize North Korean ships and aircraft to block North Korean missile exports to a declaration of war, requiring an adequate response. The upcoming US-South Korean maneuvers in March are regarded as “an attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike against the North.”
Formally, North and South Korea have been at war for half a century. North Korea's announcement means its army - the world's fifth largest - could resume military action against the South at any time. Given the proximity of the capital and industrial centers of South Korea to the border with the DPRK, this would have the most disastrous consequences for the southerners.
However, Seoul took Pyongyang's latest demarche calmly. The South Korean Ministry of Defense considers it “a propaganda step aimed at involving the United States in bilateral negotiations.”
China, one of the signatories of the 1953 agreement, without mentioning the Panmunjom statement, yesterday called on the DPRK and the United States to "start a dialogue rather than take steps that could lead to destabilization of the situation in the region." Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN |
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