North Korea poses a "very real" threat to peace and is likely to mount fresh attacks on South Korea unless a strong deterrent is in place, the top US military officer said Thursday. In comments delivered at a time of high cross-border tensions Admiral Mike Mullen said Pyongyang had also given no indication it would drop its nuclear ambitions.
"The threat (from the North) remains very real," Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff told to pool reporters after attending the inauguration of a new commander of US forces in South Korea. "North Korea shows no signs of relenting in pursuit of its nuclear capabilities, and I'm not convinced that they won't provoke again."
Mullen began his Asian tour in Beijing, where he said he urged China "to play a leadership role" in restraining its ally the North. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have flared since the South accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010. The North denied the charge but last November shelled a border island, killing four South Koreans including two civilians and briefly sparking fears of war.
In recent weeks the North's military has threatened reprisals for anti-Pyongyang signs displayed by the South's troops. It also vows to hit back for the now-banned use by some Seoul military units of portraits of the North's ruling family as shooting-range targets. Mullen said US and South Korean forces "have a sense of urgency to essentially work on planning to deter the North from further provocations. Whether they will be deterred or not, that's to be seen." Earlier Thursday, army General James Thurman took over as commander of the 28,500 US troops in South Korea and vowed to counter any provocations. He will also head the United Nations Command, a legacy of the 1950-53 war in which the US spearheaded a UN force defending the South, and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command.
Thurman, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said both Seoul and Washington are "prepared to honour our commitments, provide stability, deter conflict and, if we must, fight and win." The general said the alliance "stands ready to counter any provocation intended to destabilise the Korean peninsula". Mullen told reporters that both the North's leadership succession plan and a major anniversary next year are factors in its behaviour.