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| Pres. candidates must remember Yeonpyeong attack
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| NOVEMBER 22, 2012 08:08 |
Pres. candidates must remember Yeonpyeong attack
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NOVEMBER 22, 2012 08:08.
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Two years ago on Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m., North Korea started shelling South Korea’s frontline island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea. The South Korean military countered with K-9 self-propelled guns 13 minutes later, but more than 170 shells from the North blanketed the island. Killed in the attacked were Marine Petty Officer Seo Jeong-woo and Pvt. First Class Marine Moon Gwang-uk, in addition to two civilians. The shelling was the North’s first artillery attack on the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Signs of damage from that day, including burned down civilian homes, remain intact in a number of locations on the island.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took over power after the death of his father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, but Pyongyang still has an ambition to launch aggression in the South. Kim Jong Un in August visited Jangjaedo Artillery Fortress, some 8 kilometers from Yeonpyeong, and told his military, “Even if a single shell falls on our territory, waste no time to conduct a crushing counterattack.” He also visited the Mudo military base, which participated in the shelling of Yeonpyeong. Furthermore, the North has displayed signs that it could launch surprise provocations, including a landing drill conducted at the west coast islet of Chodo from May to August this year, deployment of 50 attack choppers in frontline areas, and construction of a new air-cushion vehicle base in the port of Goampo in Yongyon County, South Hwanghae Province.
Also in 2010, the North sank the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan with a torpedo by stealthily deploying submerged craft in waters off Baengnyeong Island in March that year, some eight months before the attack on Yeonpyeong. Paying respects to the spirits of the 46 seamen who perished in the Cheonan, the South Korean military pledged, “If the enemy touches even a single piece of weed and a single drop of water (on our side), we will retaliate with firepower 100 to 1,000 times more powerful.” Yet Seoul failed to sternly counter Pyongyang`s surprise attack on Yeonpyeong. The second anniversary of the Yeonpyeong attack that falls on Friday should be an occasion in which the South Korean military renews its commitment to thoroughly retaliate against any North Korean provocation.
North Korea has continued its acts of aggression in a bid to nullify the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea. Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands serve as unsinkable battleships for South Korea, but could become lethal swords for the North. At a time when Kim Jong Un is leading Pyongyang`s campaign to nullify the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean sea border, South Korean presidential candidates have pledged to designate a joint fishing area in the Yellow Sea, an act which is irresponsible at best. Moon Jae-in, the runner of the main opposition Democratic United Party, said he will revoke sanctions on the North that has been put in place following the Cheonan sinking. So can South Korea bring about genuine peace by begging for it through coaxing Kim Jong Un?
Presidential candidates Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, Moon and independent Ahn Cheol-soo should sternly examine the national security situation facing South Korea on the occasion of the second anniversary of the shelling of Yeonpyeong. They must remember that freedom and prosperity that the South has achieved since the 1953 signing of the Korean War armistice were not gained for free, but came from the efforts and struggle of many people. Voters should carefully check which candidate has the capacity to protect and take responsibility for national security and interest. Despite freezing winds, the South Korean Marine Corps are again protecting Yeonpyeong.
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| Two years ago on Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m., North Korea started shelling South Korea’s frontline island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea. The South Korean military countered with K-9 self-propelled guns 13 minutes later, but more than 170 shells from the North blanketed the island. Killed in the attacked were Marine Petty Officer Seo Jeong-woo and Pvt. First Class Marine Moon Gwang-uk, in addition to two civilians. The shelling was the North’s first artillery attack on the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Signs of damage from that day, including burned down civilian homes, remain intact in a number of locations on the island.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took over power after the death of his father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, but Pyongyang still has an ambition to launch aggression in the South. Kim Jong Un in August visited Jangjaedo Artillery Fortress, some 8 kilometers from Yeonpyeong, and told his military, “Even if a single shell falls on our territory, waste no time to conduct a crushing counterattack.” He also visited the Mudo military base, which participated in the shelling of Yeonpyeong. Furthermore, the North has displayed signs that it could launch surprise provocations, including a landing drill conducted at the west coast islet of Chodo from May to August this year, deployment of 50 attack choppers in frontline areas, and construction of a new air-cushion vehicle base in the port of Goampo in Yongyon County, South Hwanghae Province.
Also in 2010, the North sank the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan with a torpedo by stealthily deploying submerged craft in waters off Baengnyeong Island in March that year, some eight months before the attack on Yeonpyeong. Paying respects to the spirits of the 46 seamen who perished in the Cheonan, the South Korean military pledged, “If the enemy touches even a single piece of weed and a single drop of water (on our side), we will retaliate with firepower 100 to 1,000 times more powerful.” Yet Seoul failed to sternly counter Pyongyang`s surprise attack on Yeonpyeong. The second anniversary of the Yeonpyeong attack that falls on Friday should be an occasion in which the South Korean military renews its commitment to thoroughly retaliate against any North Korean provocation.
North Korea has continued its acts of aggression in a bid to nullify the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea. Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands serve as unsinkable battleships for South Korea, but could become lethal swords for the North. At a time when Kim Jong Un is leading Pyongyang`s campaign to nullify the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean sea border, South Korean presidential candidates have pledged to designate a joint fishing area in the Yellow Sea, an act which is irresponsible at best. Moon Jae-in, the runner of the main opposition Democratic United Party, said he will revoke sanctions on the North that has been put in place following the Cheonan sinking. So can South Korea bring about genuine peace by begging for it through coaxing Kim Jong Un?
Presidential candidates Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, Moon and independent Ahn Cheol-soo should sternly examine the national security situation facing South Korea on the occasion of the second anniversary of the shelling of Yeonpyeong. They must remember that freedom and prosperity that the South has achieved since the 1953 signing of the Korean War armistice were not gained for free, but came from the efforts and struggle of many people. Voters should carefully check which candidate has the capacity to protect and take responsibility for national security and interest. Despite freezing winds, the South Korean Marine Corps are again protecting Yeonpyeong.
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