President Lee Myung-bak also said the North’s troubled economy was reeling under UN sanctions to punish its nuclear test last year, bu he added that the destitute state was nowhere near collapse and leader Kim Jong-il was firmly in charge.“There was the sound of about 20 artillery rounds above North Korean waters near (the South’s) Yeonpyeong island,” an official with the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said by telephone.
The North has fed hundreds of rounds of artillery this week in the direction of a disputed naval border with the South that landed in the North’s waters. The firing along the heavily armed border lined with thousands of artillery pieces has not resulted in any injuries or damage.
Markets were spooked when the North began the live-fire artillery exercise on Wednesday and by Seoul’s decision to return fire. Shares in Seoul briefly retreated and the won fell against the dollar, but the moves were quickly reversed.
Market players said the subsequent days of artillery shooting have not had any significant impact on trading but served as a reminder of the risks of investing on the troubled peninsula.
Lee said the North may be firing to press its demands for talks on a peace deal with Washington to formally end the Korean War as a condition for it to end its year-long boycott of nuclear disarmament discussions. “It’s being pushed hard to come to the six-way talks, and it could be a strategy to reach a peace treaty,” Lee said. “But this is simply not a very good method.”
The North has demanded talks with the United States to reach a peace treaty to replace the armistice that halted hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War, which would then allow it to tap international financial institutions for aid.
