Is second Korean War unavoidable?

MASUM BILLAH

Photo: CFR
Tensions have escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula in recent days. The Security Council was expected
to adopt a resolution later march 07 highlighting the UN sanctions screws on North Korea after its widely
condemned nuclear test on 12 February. This was the third nuclear test of North Korea in defiance of UN
resolution. It is declared it had achieved progress in securing a functioning atomic arsenal. However, it is widely
believed the North does not have the capacity to deliver a nuclear strike on the mainland US.
A foreign ministry spokesperson of North Korea also warned that a second Korean war with both the United
States and South Korea was unavoidable referring to Pyongyangs demands to cancel a large-scale joint
military exercise next week. Our revolutionary armed forces will exercise the right to a pre-emptive nuclear
attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors, the spokesperson said in a statement carried by the
Korean Central News Agency. The latest threat came two days after the North Korean military announced it
would rip up the 1953 armistice agreement ending the Korean armistice. The spokesman stressed that the

decision to nullify the 1953 armistice would come into effect when the US-South Korean military drill would
begin. This means that from that moment the revolutionary armed forces will take military action for selfdefense against any target any moment. Meanwhile, North Korean state television showed a massive military
and civilian rally held on March 07 in Pyong Yongs giant Kim-II Sung Square. The rally was addressed by
senior military and party officials. They denounced the US and warned that Washington would reap the
consequences of its aggression. North Korea is renowned for its bellicose rhetoric but the tone has reached a
frenzied pitch in recent days, fuelling concerns of a border clash with both North and South planning major
military exercises on March 11.
It is the latest in an escalation of tough words from both sides of the armed Koran border as the UN Security
Council deliberates a resolution to tighten financial sanctions and a naval blockade against the North. North
Korea has protested against the UN censures of its rocket launches which it says are a part of peaceful space
program, as an exercise of double standard mastermind by the UN. But North Koreas shrill rhetoric rarely goes
beyond just that. Its latest armed aggression against the South Korea in 2010 came without any
announcement. It bombed South Korean island killing two civilians. It is widely accused of sinking a South
Korean navy ship earlier in the year killing 46 soldiers.
North Korea is conducting a series of military drills and is getting ready for state-wide war practice of an
unusual scale, South Koreas defense ministry says. South Korea and US will closely observe Norths
activities .They turn from an exercise to an actual attack, a South Korean official said. It hasnt been frequent
that the North Korea conducted military exercises at the state level. South Korean defense ministry
spokesman, Kim Min-seok said. The North is currently conducting various drills on land, at sea and aerially.
We are watching Norths activities and stepping up readiness under the assumption that these drills can lead
to a provocation at any time. Kim declared to confirm news reports that the North has imposed no-fly zones off
its coasts in a possible move to fire missiles , but he said any flight ban limited to near the coast would not be
for weapons with meaningful ranges.
State television, meanwhile, showed North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un laying preparations for all-out war as
he visited a frontline military unit involved in the shelling of a South Korean island in 2010. To me this feels the
most dangerous situation since the Korean war. Pak Hak-Soon, a North Korean analyst at the Sejong Institute
in Seoul.
They increase North Koreas isolation and raise the cost to North Koreas leader of defying the international
community. China wants full implementation of the resolution as its UN envoy Li Baodong nods. While
stressing those efforts must be made to bring North Korea back to negotiations. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry
spoksman Hua Chuying urged relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint and avoid actions that might
further escalate tension describing the situation as highly complex and sensitive.
As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Koreas erratic behaviour would only
herald its final destruction, North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong told the meeting. Without specifically
referring to the nuclear test, Jon said North Korea had recently taken a resolute step for self-defense, which
he described as strong counter-actions to a foreign aggressor. He added that if the US takes a hostile
approach towards North Korea, Pyongyang would be left with no option but to take the second and third
stronger steps in succession. His comments drew immediate criticism from other nations, including South
Korea and Britain, whose ambassador Joanne Adamson said such language was completely inappropriate.
She added that the discussion with North Korea was heading in the wrong direction. It cannot be allowed that
we have expressions which refer to the possible destruction of UN member states, she said.
The Korean Peninsula is going to become a practice battlefield next, with both North and south staging large
scale military drills escalating tensions keep their armies on hair trigger. South Korea usually shrugs of
Pyongyangs fierce rhetoric but this time it has responded promising to retaliate against any provocation with a
precision strike on the Norths leadership command. Such is the background for the upcoming military
maneuver emboldened by its successful rocket launch in December and its third nuclear test, North Korea is
heaping the pressure on- Yoo Ho- Yeol, a political science professor at Korea University passed his

comments. US ambassador Laura Kennedy said she found North Koreas statement profoundly disturbing.
North Korea wants a formal peace treaty, security guarantees and other concessions, as well as the removal of
28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. Still, South Korean and US officials have been closely monitoring
Pyongyangs actions and parsing the torrent of recent rhetoric from the North, which has been more warlike
than usual.
The writer is Program Manager,BRAC Education Program and VicePresident,Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA). Email:
masumbillah65@gmail.com