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North Korea calls US and South Korean naval drills a provocation to war

Earlier this month, the North vowed never to give up its nuclear weapons.

SOUTH KOREA AND the United States began their first combined naval exercise near the peninsula in five years, leading to a warning by North Korea today that the allies risked triggering war.

South Korea’s hawkish President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has vowed to beef up joint military drills with the United States, after years of failed diplomacy with North Korea under his predecessor.

“This exercise was prepared to demonstrate the strong will of the South Korea-US alliance to respond to North Korean provocations,” the South’s navy said in a statement.

At the United Nations, North Korea’s ambassador, Kim Song, said that the exercises draw “serious concern.”

“Obviously, this is an extremely dangerous act of igniting the fuse to drive the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of war,” he told the General Assembly.

The drills come a day after nuclear-armed Pyongyang conducted another ballistic missile launch, the latest in its record-breaking blitz of weapons tests this year.

Earlier this month, the North revised its nuclear weapons law, enshrining a “first strike” doctrine and vowing never to give up its nukes.

Kim told the United Nations that the United States “compelled” action by the North, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The US should clearly understand that its heinous, hostile policy against the DPRK over the past 30 years has brought about today’s reality and ask itself and ponder how far it will prolong this situation.”

Washington is Seoul’s key security ally and stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect it from the North.

The four-day exercise on South Korea’s east coast will involve more than 20 vessels and an assortment of aircraft, which will conduct drills for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare operations, tactical manoeuvres and other maritime operations, the navy added.

“Through this exercise, we will further improve the ability to conduct joint operations between the naval forces of the two countries,” Kwak Kwang-sub, a senior South Korean naval officer, said in the statement.

North Korea is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its programmes to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Close neighbour China said it had “noted” the joint military drills in the region when asked about the missile launch on Monday, and called for “dialogue and consultation”.

“The main issue is that the North Korean side’s legitimate and reasonable concerns have not received due response,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a routine briefing.

“The US should shoulder its own responsibilities, stop confrontation and pressure, and create conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue.”

Seoul has also detected signs the North is preparing to fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile, the president’s office said Saturday, a weapon Pyongyang last tested in May.

Washington and Seoul have long carried out joint exercises, which they insist are purely defensive. North Korea, however, sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.

Last month, the United States and South Korea staged their biggest combined military drills since 2018 — the resumption of large-scale training sessions that had been scaled back due to Covid-19 and the period of diplomacy with Pyongyang.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    May 14th 2012, 1:34 PM

    Wow the fiscal compact is sure doing it’s job of steadying the financial markets…….

    71
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    Mute limofax
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    May 14th 2012, 1:43 PM

    Must have heard that FG mayor Jim Keogh says No!

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    Mute Shayno ZO
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    May 14th 2012, 1:48 PM

    Spain has set up a government backed fund to recapitalize their banks with a interest rate of 10% making their citizens a profit and not handcuffing the country! we really need to get a grip here, our politicians have no business acumen.

    56
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    Mute Ronala
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    May 14th 2012, 2:51 PM

    They have, it is just that they prefer to put the people at the top above the interests of the people and economy overall.

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    Mute Senan Kelly
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    May 14th 2012, 3:26 PM

    But the banks will simply hike charges and borrow the rest with emergency leanding from the ECB to pay the interest.
    Spain is following Irelands piss poor policy of slowly socialising bank debts which is what this amounts too.

    The only difference between us and Spain is simply that Spain is too big to bailout and conversly too big to fail. Something has and will give.

    A default and Euro exit of Greece is all but a certainty now. All of these recent events mean the Fiscal Treaty is a total waste of time and money.

    The Debt Monster in Europe is about the stir once again and this time it is not going to be pretty.

    In a few months this treaty will be looked back on as a complete red herring as all the above events will show.

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    Mute Senan Kelly
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    May 14th 2012, 3:33 PM

    Shayno is not entirely correct.

    The Banks cant afford to pay this Interest. So they will hike up bank charges which hits the consumer.
    The Banks in Spain have also been getting billions in emergency funding from the ECB at very low rates ~1%.
    They use this money to buy Spanish bonds which are paying out at 3/4% which they then use to shore up there balance sheets.
    Basically they are socialisng their Bank Debt.

    Except this cant go on forever and Spain is simply too big to bailout and conversly too big to fail.

    This Euro Debt Crisis is about to get nasty.

    A Greek default and Exit is not going to be pretty and will be very bad for Ireland.

    This Treaty is a complete red herring.

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    Mute Liam Ó Broin
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    May 14th 2012, 1:48 PM

    I’m confused. When the time comes, who bails out Planet Earth? I think the Martians will see us as bad investment. After that, who else do we have? Mercurians maybe? :P

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    Mute limofax
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    May 14th 2012, 1:56 PM

    They got their fingers burnt years ago

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    Mute Liam Ó Broin
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    May 14th 2012, 7:01 PM

    Us Earthlings are a frivolous bunch aren’t we!? :P

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    Mute Ryan oneill
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    May 14th 2012, 2:06 PM

    The tide has turned and ‘the markets’ are now betting on the end of the euro, a risky investment but one that yields more profit. Spain is to big to bailout when they go it’s bye bye euro and the snakes in suits profiteer from it.

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    Mute somethingodd
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    May 14th 2012, 2:00 PM

    we really do need to vote no until there is some stability, at which point, then it would make sense to bring in rules but can’t do this in such uncertain times

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    Mute Shanners
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    May 14th 2012, 2:06 PM

    300 quid wiped off my fund for euro 2012 with that drop in share price this morning. Would Greece ever cop on for themselves, they are letting everyone down!

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    Mute Ronala
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    May 14th 2012, 2:47 PM

    If you think that an economy that is as small and insignificant as Greece is causing all this problems, then you are going to have a harsh few years ahead.

    The Euro is the problem. Greece is just a basket case economy, that is stuck in that problem.

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    Mute Dmc
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    May 14th 2012, 6:14 PM

    This crisis is a big scam to acquire more assets and make certain powers even more powerful!

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    Mute Yamonpat Yoddee
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    May 14th 2012, 3:56 PM

    It’s such a mess, all these countrys people want to stay in the euro , big country’s got to help the small countrys and they gain in currency rates for exports the German people understand this.. It’ can be cleaned up if the will was there from all euro country’s

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    Mute El Cheebo
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    May 14th 2012, 3:38 PM

    Timber!!!!!!!!!!!!

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