North Korea halts passage to South, Hannah Cooper

Hannah Cooper — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:49:30 +0000

North Korea announced on Wednesday their intentions to introduce a ban on all land crossings at the border with South Korea beginning next month, accusing Seoul of seeking confrontation and warning that North-South ties stand on the brink of "total severance".Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.

Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking here

The toD verdict: North and South Korea fought a violent war from 1950 to 1953 that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and that created one of the world's most heavily fortified borders. The latest announcement followed repeated warnings from the North that, after a decade of attempts at reconciliation between the two countries, relations were deteriorating because of the South Korean government's "anti-North" attitudes which have allegedly grown in prominence since the conservative president Lee Myung-bak took office in February. The government in Seoul has expressed regret at the North's decision, emphasising their desire for peaceful negotiations.

Recent activities in the Koreas seem to have incited the North to take such dramatic action, for instance their profound irritation at airdrops of millions of leaflets sent by South Korean activitists, the latest of which has tapped into the nation's sensitivities over the health of Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader.

This move comes despite some progress in international efforts to dismantle the nuclear programme in North Korea, which saw the removal of the country from a US ‘black list'.

Uranium found at bombed site in Syria

Traces of uranium found on a Syrian site bombed by Israel last year have led the International Atomic Energy Agency to open an enquiry into allegations that the country has a secret atomic programme. Syria, which currently runs a declared basic nuclear programme for research and the production of isotopes for medical and agricultural uses, has denied having a covert programme. The US, however, says that the site hit by Israeli airstrikes in September 2007 housed a hidden reactor which, when complete, would have been capable of producing plutonium. Syria, which unlike Israel has ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, is afraid that the IAEA probe could lead to actions such as those taken against Iran which is currently facing sanctions because of its refusal to heed United Nations Security Council demands to curb its nuclear activities.

Appeal to British to arrest ETA terrorist

The Spanish police appealed on Tuesday to their British counterparts to find and arrest a Spanish terrorist and former member of ETA, Iñaki de Juana Chaos, after he failed to make an appearance at a Spanish court. De Juana Chaos was released from prison in August at the end of a sentence for 25 killings, and according to Interpol is living in Belfast. The Spanish authorities are currently investigating allegations that one of the first things he did after his release was to write a letter to be read out in public at a street demonstration in his honour, inciting people to commit acts of terrorism. This "apology for terrorism" is why the victims of ETA attacks are insisting that de Juana Chaos be returned to prison.

Police arrest members of Hindu terrorist cell

The Indian police have, for the first time, announced the arrest of members of a Hindu terrorist cell. The nine suspects have been charged with murder and conspiracy in connection with the bombing in September of a Muslim-majority area in Malegaon, Maharashtra, which killed six people. Among those arrested by the police antiterrorist squad in Maharashtra over the past two weeks is a Hindu nun with links to the principal opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and an army colonel, who is suspected of having supplied ammunition and provided training to the bombers. The latter undermines the Indian military's claim to be secular and apolitical. Bal Thackeray, the leader of a Hindu extremist group, recently wrote that the increasing threat of Islamic terror in India made it necessary for Hindus to form their own units of suicide bombers.

Government offices targeted in Afghan bomb attack

A bomb attack on government buildings in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, between Kandahar's main intelligence office and a compound used by the provincial government council, claimed six lives and left at least 40 more wounded. Early reports from the police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a car bomb, but no suicide attacker was involved. The attack, which also flattened two nearby homes, came just hours after acid was thrown over two unaccompanied schoolgirls by a suspected Taliban militant. This year has seen a sharp escalation in violence in Afghanistan, with attacks against government and foreign forces as well as civilians.

US aid worker shot dead

An American aid worker and his Pakistani driver were killed in his car on Tuesday morning in Peshawar as he left for work. The American, Steve Vance, ran an initiative within a project set up by the United States Agency for International Development which aims to bring $750 million of development projects to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas over five years. Those responsible for the shootings have not been identified. The tribal areas have seen a recent increase in the influence of the Taliban and a subsequent intensification of violent activities, and this death follows a suicide bomb attack the previous night at the Peshawar Sport Complex during the concluding ceremony of the inter-provincial games on Tuesday, which killed four people and injured 13 others.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, three militants and five other people were killed on Tuesday during a Nato operation to recover two vehicles and military goods looted by insurgents the previous day.

Average rating

(1 vote)

open Democracy News Analysis - North Korea halts passage to South, Hannah Cooper - Comments

North Korea halts passage to South, Hannah Cooper