SKorea to make islands near NKorea fortresses

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SKorea to make islands near NKorea fortresses

APNews

South Korea's president vowed Tuesday to turn five islands along the tense

border with North Korea into " military fortresses " with jobs for permanent

civilian communities, including those destroyed in a North Korean artillery

attack.

President Lee Myung-bak's comments came as the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs

of Staff flew to Seoul to give reassurances of the U.S. commitment to the

country's defense, and as the top diplomats from the U.S., Japan and South Korea

gathered in Washington in a show of unity. The diplomats urged the North to stop

its " provocative and belligerent " behavior and abandon its nuclear arms program.

Tensions are still high on the Korean peninsula following the Nov. 23 North

Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a tiny enclave of military bases and

fishing communities along the Koreas' disputed western sea border. The attack

killed two South Korean Marines and two civilians, and reduced many homes and

shops to charred rubble.

Lee, in comments posted on his presidential website, said he wanted to

" gradually push to make (the five front-line Yellow Sea islands) military

fortresses " and to create jobs so local residents can continue to live on all of

the islands.

Most of the 1,300 civilians on Yeonpyeong Island have fled, with many now living

in a public bathhouse that has been converted into a refugee center in the port

city of Incheon.

Lee has been criticized for a military response to the shelling that was deemed

too slow and too weak. He has ordered reinforcements for the thousands of South

Korean troops stationed on Yeonpyeong and the four other border islands, as well

as top-level weaponry and upgraded rules of engagement.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Monday with Japanese

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.

The meeting was meant to demonstrate a serious response to recent North Korean

actions, including the island shelling and Pyongyang's announced expansion of a

uranium enrichment capability that the United States and others see as a defiant

and dangerous step.

North Korea wants to restart international talks on receiving aid in return for

dismantling its nuclear program, but Clinton made clear that Washington, Tokyo

and Seoul view a resumption of talks as tantamount to rewarding North Korea for

behaving badly.

" They need to demonstrate a seriousness of purpose in ending their provocations

and let the world know they are now ready to come to the table and fulfill the

commitments they have already made, " Clinton said of the North. " All agree that

North Korea's provocative and belligerent behavior jeopardizes peace and

stability in Asia. "

On Wednesday, the South Korean chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Han

Min-koo, will meet with his American counterpart, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen. South

Korean military officials said in a statement that the two would assess security

on the peninsula and discuss ways to deter future North Korean provocation.