US provocations before N.Korea's vital event 'would worsen situation'
Global Times
By Leng Shumei, Zhang Changyue and Wan Hengyi Published: Apr 14, 2022 10:48 PM
Despite North Korea's vital festivals in the coming days, the US and NATO, instead of making encouraging gestures to ease the situation on the Korean Peninsula, have intensified threats, including sending an aircraft carrier group near South Korea and urging the UN to slap new sanctions to provoke the country citing so-called nuclear and missile threats. However, Chinese experts warned that the moves would only worsen tensions on the Peninsula.
Friday, April 15, marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il-sung, The Day of the Sun. The country is also set to celebrate the founding anniversary of the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army on April 25.
Some South Korean and US media have predicted that North Korea could engage in provocative acts like the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a nuclear test given the major events it is welcoming.
Citing concerns over the predicted acts and North Korea's missile tests in January and March, the US and NATO have conducted actions to deter North Korea, which experts said would only worsen the situation and prompt North Korea to make stronger responses.
The chair of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Admiral Rob Bauer, who is visiting South Korea, reportedly stressed that the international community must maintain pressure on North Korea, including by fully implementing existing UN sanctions, on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Kyodo News Agency reported that the US and Japan had been conducting a joint naval exercise involving a US aircraft carrier and vessels of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing the US 7th Fleet.
The exercise started Friday last week, involving the US strike group of the nuclear-powered carrier the Abraham Lincoln, according to the US 7th Fleet.
It was reportedly the first time the US aircraft carrier held the exercise in the area since 2017.
In November 2017, the US sent three aircraft carriers, the USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Nimitz and the USS Theodore Roosevelt, to the East Sea operational area, called the Korea Theater of Operations, in an unprecedented display of force against North Korea following the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile by Pyongyang, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The entry of the US aircraft carrier into the East Sea is clearly aimed at deterring North Korea following its test last month. But it is extremely dangerous as it raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula and such military provocations are clear, according to Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
The possibility of a potential military conflict between the South and the North could not be ruled out if something out of the ordinary happens, which will further worsen bilateral relations, Lü said.
Lü noted that North Korea had made some gestures to give up nuclear weapons, but the US ignored them which made North Korea feel insecure and conducted other missile tests.
The US has increased sanctions, which is a deliberate provocation aimed at worsening tensions. And NATO is helping a villain do evil, Lü noted.
The US has led calls for increased sanctions on North Korea, after the latter tested a new type of ICBM Hwasongpho-17 in March, about five years after the report of its last ICBM test launch in November 2017.
After the abovementioned exercise with Japan's MSDF, the US is also set to hold regular springtime joint military exercises with South Korea later this month, the Voice of America reported, noting that the move was also expected to be a tense point for the Peninsula.
History has proven that military provocations never had an effect on North Korea, but the US still uses it as a "magic weapon" toward the latter. I think this is because the US wants to exaggerate the tense situation on the Peninsula and in East Asia to pressure China, Lü said, noting that this is part of the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy.
China has said that the US should not provoke trouble on the Peninsula. China would not allow a war to erupt on the Peninsula, Lü said.
From April 4-7, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming visited Washington, DC and met with senior US officials on the North Korea nuclear issue.
Liu elaborated on China's principled position on the Korean Peninsula issue and underscored that given the current situation on the Peninsula, it is most imperative for relevant parties to remain cool-headed, exercise restraint and avoid taking actions that could escalate tensions.
Any action it takes should be conducive to de-escalation and dialogue, instead of adding fuel to the fire, Liu noted.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
