- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

South Korea Warns of Imminent, Mass Casualty Terror Threat

© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joonA South Korean protester with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shouts slogans during a rally against North Korea's announcement that it had tested a hydrogen bomb.
A South Korean protester with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shouts slogans during a rally against North Korea's announcement that it had tested a hydrogen bomb. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has warned of a potential terrorist attack by North Korean provocateurs. Press secretary to President Park, Kim Sung-woo, declared, "The possibility of North Korea’s anti-South terrorism becoming reality is rising to an ever higher level."

The warnings come after National Intelligence Service (NIS) assessments stated that the North Korean dictatorship plans to target anti-Pyongyang activists, defectors, and government officials in South Korea. The NIS report also claims a heightened risk for a mass casualty event, targeting South Korean civilians in subways, shopping malls, and other public places.

The troubling report highlights the recent escalation in provocations by the "Hermit Kingdom" to the north, including a purported hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean earlier this year and the testing of a satellite-based ballistic missile system with capabilities extending potentially as far as the US mainland.

People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test at a railroad station in Seoul - Sputnik International
Obama Signs Bill Expanding Sanctions Against North Korea - White House

Warnings Come as South Gears up for Elections, Calls For Surveillance on Private Communications

South Korea’s liberal opposition parties, however, question the veracity and intent of the NIS report. Opposition leaders note that today’s warning comes less than two months ahead of parliamentary elections in April.

The dire NIS assessment also comes at a time when President Park’s ruling Saenrui Party aims to push through sweeping new surveillance laws providing the government with the power to actively monitor the private communications of South Koreans citizens.

North Koreans walk along the Kim Il Sung Square as they commute at the end of their work day, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea - Sputnik International
Asia
Beijing Calls on US, North Korea to Exercise Restraint

Opposition leaders assert that South Korea’s intelligence agency will use these capabilities to spy on dissenting political organizations and individuals.

Domestically, the NIS has failed to shed the reputation of being an instrument of political control and suppression by ruling officials.

Tensions Not Expected to Subside Anytime Soon

Facilitating growing tensions is the expansion of the US military presence in the Pacific. South Korea’s upcoming military drills will be the largest ever, according to the country’s defense minister. The annual military exercises will include 15,000 US troops, more than double the normal American involvement.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - Sputnik International
Inside North Korea's Secret Drone Ops

Additionally, US and South Korean officials have contemplated deploying a complex missile defense system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, in South Korea, claiming a need to detect and destroy potential North Korean missiles said to be trained on Seoul.

North Korea’s ally China, along with Russia, caution against deploying the defense system, noting it could allow the US to spy on the military capabilities of their respective countries, and threaten the global balance of power.

Further, the US has done a series of flyovers of South Korean airspace over the past two weeks with F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-capable bombers to signal their commitment to the South’s security.

F-22 Raptor - Sputnik International
Obama Sends F-22 Raptor Jets to South Korea to Back Up Defense Pledge

President Barack Obama has also recently signed a new and more stringent round of economic sanctions against the North Korean government, at a time when international observers question whether economic despair may collapse the regime of the young North Korean dictator, creating the risk of destabilization in a military dictatorship with nuclear capability.

Pyongyang officials warn, as they traditionally do, that these measures are no more than clear preparations for an invasion of their country by the South. On Friday, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un responded by announcing plans for more ballistic missile tests.

With a complex history of war, stalemate and distrust stoked by domestic political challenges in both the South and the North, international officials see little hope for tensions to subside anytime soon. 

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала