In a manner of speaking

"News" and views from North Korea:

US-S. Korean Warmongers Contemplate More War Maneuvers

The U.S. imperialists and south Korean puppet war-like forces announced a plan to stage combined exercises in the West Sea of Korea from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, according to south Korean Yonhap News.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements to stage again the war exercises targeted against the DPRK in wake of the grave military provocation they perpetrated against the territorial waters of the DPRK side in the West Sea of Korea while staging the Hoguk war maneuvers for aggression against the DPRK.

Guambat reckons a more appropriate headline to that story might be "Inching to Incheon". See Stratfor report, Is North Korea Moving Another 'Red Line'?:

"Pyongyang is attempting to move the real “red line” for conventional weapons engagements, just as it has managed to move the limit of “acceptable” behavior regarding its nuclear program."

Stratfor also provides a very helpful explanation of the red, yellow, NLL and MDL lines: Dispatch: Importance of the Koreas' Northern Limit Line

One of the elements to that is really to better understand what is the Northern Limit Line, why is it there and how do the North Koreans view this.

At the end of the Korean War, as the armistice was being discussed, there was a general agreement on where the DMZ — the demilitarized zone - would go between the two Koreas. However, there was no agreement on where the maritime border would go on the west coast.

The United Nations unilaterally drew the Northern Limit Line — putting it within three nautical miles of the North Korean coast, which was standard territory at the time. It also placed five islands just south of the NLL under South Korean or under U.N. control at the time.

And in many ways, that boxed in the North Koreans, and it protected the southern port at Incheon.

The North Koreans never recognized the NLL, and by the late 1950s they were already complaining about it.

They were suggesting the creation of what they called the MDL — the military demarcation line. This would have been a line that matches more along the 12 nautical miles and runs fairly diagonally between North Korea and South Korea in the West Sea.

For the North Koreans, this would give them access to Haeju, their southern deepwater port. It would also give them access to critical crab-fishing grounds in the area.

For the South Koreans however the shape of the MDL, from their perspective, would put Incheon at risk, and South Korea and the United Nations refused to change the line.

When we look at North Korea’s broad strategic behavior in trying to force negotiations over critical issues, we see them posturing, we see them raising crises so they can step back from them in return for talks and for negotiations.

But as we’ve seen in the issues of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles, they’ve reached a point where it’s very hard now to create a crisis because they’ve already tested nuclear weapons; they’ve already launched long-range missiles. In general, any red line — real or imagined — has already been crossed.

We’re seeing now on the NLL that the North Koreans are having [to] step up even to a higher state of activity to be able to draw attention to the NLL.

So shelling into the water doesn’t do it, missile tests doesn’t do it, shooting between boats doesn’t necessarily do it, even the incident with the Chon An didn’t seem to bring this NLL issue back up onto the table. They’re now shelling South Korean islands.

But, back to North Korea and its more prosaic way of getting its message across.

CPRK Warns S. Korean Puppet Group Not to Do Rash Act

The south Korean puppet group is now getting hell-bent on the wholesale racket for confrontation with the DPRK while groundlessly taking issue with the army of the DPRK over its due punishment meted to the group for its reckless military provocation.

In this regard, a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea released a statement on Friday.

The recent military provocation by the puppet group is a product of the deliberate and premeditated plot hatched by it to save its smear confrontational campaign from total bankruptcy, tarnish the daily rising might of the DPRK, scuttle the efforts for improving the north-south relations and tide over the domestic and international isolation and crisis, it points out, and says:

The group perpetrated the recent provocation prompted by a sinister calculation that in case the DPRK did not make any reaction it would take it as "a tacit recognition" of the illegal "northern limit line" and make it a fait accompli and in case the DPRK took a military counter-action, it would use it as a pretext for kicking up anti-DPRK smear campaign.

This notwithstanding, the chief executive of south Korea did not bother to cry out for "much stronger punishment" while pulling up the DPRK. This is nothing but last-ditch efforts of those who were hit hard after making hasty provocation.

The prevailing situation clearly proves that the DPRK's warnings and domestic and foreign concerns that the seizure of power by the Lee Myung Bak group of conservatives would bedevil the inter-Korean relations and lead to a war were by no means for nothing.

If the puppet group insists on confrontation with the DPRK, the DPRK does not have any idea of dodging it at all.

It is the temperament of the DPRK to resolutely counter confrontation with confrontation and war with war.

The army and people of the DPRK are now greatly enraged at the provocation of the puppet group while getting fully ready to give a shower of dreadful fire and blow up the bulwark of the enemies if they dare to encroach again upon the DPRK's dignity and sovereignty even in the least.

The group should not run amuck, clearly understanding the will and mettle of the highly alerted army and people of the DPRK to wipe out the enemies.

Escalated confrontation would lead to a war and he who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish therein.

Gone are the days when verbal warnings are served only.

We will respond to good faith in kind but punish the provocateurs encroaching upon our dignity and sovereignty with resolute and merciless counter-action.