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North Korea Hails South's World Cup Success, Accuses U.S. of Fuelling Tension
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| South
Koreans pay homage to their killed sailors.
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SEOUL,
July 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - North Korea's football
chief said Monday, July 1, that if the two Koreas combine their power
and wisdom, reunification of the divided country is a real
possibility, and accused the U.S. of pushing relations between the
divided Peninsula to "the brink of war".
North
Korean Football Association head Li Kwang-Geun hailed
South Korea
's spectacular World Cup campaign as a victory that spread delight to
people in the two
Koreas
, officials said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
He sent the congratulations in a letter to South Korean counterpart
Chung-Mong-Joon, the South's Unification Ministry said.
The letter was sent Monday through the truce
village
of
Panmunjom
, the only contact point in the demilitarized zone which divides the
Korean
Peninsula
.
"The performance of the South Korean side displayed the strong
spirit and physical prowess of the Korean people to the world,"
said Li, who also serves as
Pyongyang
's Trade Minister.
The North's congratulations came as Cold War tensions between the
Koreas mounted over a fierce sea battle at the weekend that left four
South Korean sailors killed, one missing and 19 injured.
However, the North Korean letter did not contain any political
message, with Li just calling for cooperation with Chung "to pull
South and
North Korea
together."
The string of victories of
South Korea
's national team during the World Cup tournament followed a
"stunning" surprise created by
North Korea
in 1966 when it made the quarterfinals after beating
Italy
, he said.
"It was a joint victory which delighted the Korean people,"
Li said.
"It demonstrates our confidence that the Korean people have the
potential to reach the very top of the world, and that if the two
Koreas
combine their power and wisdom, reunification of the divided country
is a real possibility," he said.
Meanwhile,
accusing the
U.S.
directly of fuelling tension between North and South,
North Korea
said Sunday, June 30, it had measures ready to counter any
"pre-emptive"
U.S.
attack from its bases in
South Korea
, the Iranian daily newspaper, Tehran Times reported.
"The
obtaining situation compels the DPRK [
North Korea
] to take a strong countermeasure," the official North Korean
newspaper Rodong Sinmun said, according to Tehran Times.
The
mouthpiece of the ruling workers' party denounced the
U.S.
for threatening and containing
North Korea
with a strategy of launching a "preemptive strike," said
AFP.
"This
is a declaration of a showdown of strength on the Korean peninsula and
an extremely dangerous attempt to drive the DPRK-U.S. relations to the
brink of war," it said.
However,
the newspaper made no mention of the fierce gun battle Saturday, June
29, between South and North Korean navies in the yellow sea that left
four South Korean soldiers killed, one missing and 19 injured.
The
skirmish was the most serious in three years and prompted a high alert
by South Korean armed forces and some 37,000
U.S.
troops guarding the tense inter-Korean frontier.
The
United States
fought with the South in the 1950-53 Korean war which has never been
officially ended with a peace treaty.
In
a separately related development,
South Korea
's military held Monday a memorial service for its four sailors killed
during the sea battle, as warships stepped up vigilance in the
Yellow Sea
.
The tearful service for the sailors killed aboard their sunken patrol
boat on Saturday was held at a military hospital in southern
Seoul
, military authorities said.
"Reinforcements including frigates and destroyers have been
dispatched to the battle zone," a navy officer told AFP.
North Korea
admitted it suffered losses without giving details although South
Korean military officials said at least 30 North Korean sailors were
killed or wounded.
With tensions escalating, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Dong-Shin
said he would meet General Leon LaPorte, commander of the 37,000
U.S.
troops in
South Korea
, later Monday when the dead sailors are buried at a national
cemetery.
LaPorte said the battle was a clear North Korean violation of the
armistice which halted, but did not officially end, the 1950-53 Korean
War.
The
U.S.
commander urged the North to settle the situation through negotiations
but there had been no response.
The inter-Korean skirmish also sparked international concerns, with
the
United States
condemning
North Korea
's "provocation."
"We support the stance of our ally against armed
provocation," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Brenda Greenberg
said.
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