ID :
70483
Wed, 07/15/2009 - 10:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/70483
The shortlink copeid
U.S. ready for N. Korean threat: Gen. Sharp
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said Tuesday that the combined forces of South Korea and the U.S. are prepared for any attack from North Korea and urged the North to return to the six-way talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"I can assure you that the alliance is fully prepared to respond to any situation
as we continue to monitor the activity in the region," Gen. Walter Sharp said in
a video-linked news conference from New York.
The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War,
which ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
"We are prepared for any sort of military attacks and provocations, as you said,
from ballistic missiles and any sort of missiles," Sharp said. "We have very
extensive plans as far as being able to deal with provocations, any sort of
attacks."
Sharp's remarks come amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North
Korea tested a nuclear bomb in May, its second detonation, and has launched a
series of dummy missiles.
The provocations led the U.N. Security Council to ban the North from conducting
any further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and to impose financial sanctions
and an arms embargo. A Security Council resolution allows cargo interdiction on
the high seas to detect weapons trafficking.
Sharp urged North Korea to "return to the six-party talks" and "take a new path"
to care for its people and stop threatening the international community.
Pyongyang has been boycotting the multilateral talks on its denuclearization in
protest of the international condemnation of its nuclear and missile tests.
The commander also said that the U.S. military computer system has not been
damaged by the recent cyberattacks against scores of government Web sites in
South Korea and the U.S.
"At the Department of Defense, our operations have not been affected by the
cyberattacks," he said. "We, the U.S. military side, are looking very hard to
make sure that we have the proper defense in place."
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said Tuesday that the combined forces of South Korea and the U.S. are prepared for any attack from North Korea and urged the North to return to the six-way talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"I can assure you that the alliance is fully prepared to respond to any situation
as we continue to monitor the activity in the region," Gen. Walter Sharp said in
a video-linked news conference from New York.
The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War,
which ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
"We are prepared for any sort of military attacks and provocations, as you said,
from ballistic missiles and any sort of missiles," Sharp said. "We have very
extensive plans as far as being able to deal with provocations, any sort of
attacks."
Sharp's remarks come amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North
Korea tested a nuclear bomb in May, its second detonation, and has launched a
series of dummy missiles.
The provocations led the U.N. Security Council to ban the North from conducting
any further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and to impose financial sanctions
and an arms embargo. A Security Council resolution allows cargo interdiction on
the high seas to detect weapons trafficking.
Sharp urged North Korea to "return to the six-party talks" and "take a new path"
to care for its people and stop threatening the international community.
Pyongyang has been boycotting the multilateral talks on its denuclearization in
protest of the international condemnation of its nuclear and missile tests.
The commander also said that the U.S. military computer system has not been
damaged by the recent cyberattacks against scores of government Web sites in
South Korea and the U.S.
"At the Department of Defense, our operations have not been affected by the
cyberattacks," he said. "We, the U.S. military side, are looking very hard to
make sure that we have the proper defense in place."
