AGL 38.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.16%)
AIRLINK 134.19 Increased By ▲ 5.22 (4.05%)
BOP 8.85 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (12.74%)
CNERGY 4.69 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.64%)
DCL 8.67 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (4.21%)
DFML 39.78 Increased By ▲ 0.84 (2.16%)
DGKC 85.15 Increased By ▲ 3.21 (3.92%)
FCCL 34.90 Increased By ▲ 1.48 (4.43%)
FFBL 75.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.15%)
FFL 12.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.62%)
HUBC 109.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.91 (-0.82%)
HUMNL 14.10 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.64%)
KEL 5.40 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (4.85%)
KOSM 7.75 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.04%)
MLCF 41.37 Increased By ▲ 1.57 (3.94%)
NBP 69.70 Decreased By ▼ -2.62 (-3.62%)
OGDC 193.62 Increased By ▲ 5.33 (2.83%)
PAEL 26.21 Increased By ▲ 0.58 (2.26%)
PIBTL 7.42 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.68%)
PPL 163.85 Increased By ▲ 11.18 (7.32%)
PRL 26.36 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (3.82%)
PTC 19.47 Increased By ▲ 1.77 (10%)
SEARL 84.40 Increased By ▲ 1.98 (2.4%)
TELE 7.99 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (5.27%)
TOMCL 34.05 Increased By ▲ 1.48 (4.54%)
TPLP 8.72 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (3.56%)
TREET 17.18 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (2.38%)
TRG 61.00 Increased By ▲ 4.96 (8.85%)
UNITY 28.96 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.63%)
WTL 1.37 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.48%)
BR100 10,786 Increased By 127.6 (1.2%)
BR30 32,266 Increased By 934.6 (2.98%)
KSE100 100,083 Increased By 813.5 (0.82%)
KSE30 31,193 Increased By 160.9 (0.52%)

North Korean leader Kim Jong II said his country must bolster its armed forces, state media reported Sunday, two days after his regime warned it would launch a war against South Korea if necessary.
Kim's all-powerful National Defence Commission had threatened Friday to initiate a sacred ``retaliatory battle' against the South in anger over its reported contingency plan to cope with potential unrest in the communist country. The commission also warned it could break off all dialogue and negotiations with the South.
On Sunday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim had inspected a joint army, navy and air force drill that demonstrated the country's ``merciless striking power' against anyone trying to infringe on its territory.
Kim expressed his satisfaction with the drill and assigned the military tasks to develop it into ``the invincible revolutionary armed forces,' according to the KCNA report. The report did not say when or where the joint drill took place.
Kim routinely visits military units and inspects their training to bolster his ``songun,' or ``military-first,' policy that rewards the 1.2 million-member armed forces _ the backbone of his authoritarian rule of the country's 24 million people. He often calls for a stronger military during the visits.
The report of his latest inspection, however, came two days after his defence commission issued a rare statement strongly protesting the South's alleged contingency plan, which it says is aimed at toppling Kim's regime. The commission said ``a sacred nation-wide retaliatory battle to blow up the stronghold of the South Korean authorities,' including the presidential office, would begin once the plan was completed and put into practice. It also said the country would push for Seoul's expulsion in any negotiations on peace on the Korean peninsula if the South didn't apologize for the plan. The warning came as a surprise since the North recently offered conciliatory gestures to the South, including a proposal Thursday to discuss resuming stalled joint tour programs.
Seoul expressed regret over the North's threat, which it said was driven by unconfirmed media reports.
South Korea has reportedly drawn up a military operations plan with the United States to cope with possible emergencies in North Korea. South Korea's Defence Ministry has consistently declined to comment about the existence of such a plan. North Korea occasionally issues statements that include threats to destroy South Korea. Authorities in Seoul monitor them carefully but usually take them in stride.

Copyright Associated Press, 2010

Comments

Comments are closed.