South Korea stages show of military force

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Belgium's Prince Philippe (right) is greeted by Hai Phong City's Chairman Duong Anh Dien upon his arrival at Hai Phong port city in Hanoi Wednesday. The Belgian royal couple are in Hanoi for a trip from March 11 to 14 as they lead a group of more than 300

SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters): South Korea staged a show of military force, conducting anti-submarine warfare exercises off its western coast as tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang continued to rise.
The drill was held off the west coast town of Taean, far south of the disputed Yellow Sea border where the Cheonan corvette was sunk.
A squadron of 10 warships, including a 3,500-tonne destroyer, fired shells and laid depth-charges in a live-firing exercise aimed at deterring further aggression from North Korea which stands accused of torpedoing a South Korea warship last March.
The South's flexing of its military muscles came in defiance of North Korean denials and bellicose threats to return to "all-out war" if Seoul seeks to punish it for the sinking of the Cheonan with the loss of 46 lives.
Relations between the two Koreas, now at their lowest ebb for a decade, deteriorated further with the announcement from Pyongyang that it was cancelling a series of military safeguard agreements aimed at preventing confrontations along the country's disputed sea borders.
"We will completely repeal the military guarantee measures that our army is to enforce related to North-South cooperation exchange," the North's army chief of staff said in a notice carried by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency.
As the drills continued in the Yellow Sea several miles behind the disputed border where the Cheonan was sunk, the US -South Korean combined forces command reportedly raised its surveillance level, called Watch Condition, up a level from 3 to 2. Level 1 is the highest.
However Seoul's stock and capital markets continued to hold firm as analysts predicted that the current round of sabre-rattling would not lead to serious conflict.
South Korea has already cut almost all trade links with the Pyongyang, banning all North Korean merchant shipping for its sea-lanes and stationing a second destroyer along the maritime border to ward off any attempts to cross the line.
In Seoul an estimated 10,000 protesters staged a rally outside the capital's City Hall demanding revenge for the Cheonan attack, burning North Korean flags and chanting "Let's kill mad dog Kim Jong-Il!", the North's leader.
Against the background rising tensions, diplomatic talks continued over how to secure international backing for a censure of Pyongyang at the United Nations where South Korea is expected to refer the sinking to a divided Security Council as early as next week.
Meanwhile:North Korea has announced it will scrap an agreement aimed at preventing accidental naval clashes with South Korea, amid rising tensions over the sinking of a South Korean warship, reports BBC.
The move is in retaliation for Seoul blaming Pyongyang for a torpedo attack that sank the Cheonan in March.
The announcement comes as the South Korean navy conducts a major anti-submarine drill. An international probe found the Cheonan was sunk by a Northern torpedo. North Korea has denied the allegation.
In a statement on the North Korean official news agency on Thursday, the North Korean military said the country would "completely nullify the bilateral agreement that was concluded to prevent a contingent clash in the West Sea of Korea [Yellow Sea].
Continue reading the main story A giant offshore crane salvages the bow section of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan off Baengnyeong Island, South Korea, file picture from 24 April 2010
Korean propaganda fight How South Korean ship was sunk Q&A: Cheonan sinking Timeline: North Korean attacks
"In connection with this, [we] will completely stop using international maritime ultra-short wave walkie-talkies and will immediately cut off the communication line that was opened to handle an emergency situation."
It also warned of an immediate attack if the South's navy violated the disputed Yellow Sea borderline, and that it would consider a complete block on access to a joint industrial project in the North Korean city of Kaesong.
The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says the announcement is another piece in the picture that is coming out of North Korea of increasing tension.
On Tuesday, North Korea announced it would sever all ties with the South.
It had also banned South Korean ships and planes from its territory - a measure it repeated in its Thursday statement.
South Korea will "resolutely" deal with the North's measures, a South Korean defence ministry official said without elaborating, according to the Associated Press news agency.
SouthSouth Korea will "resolutely" deal with the North's measures, a South Korean defence ministry official said without elaborating, according to the Associated Press news agency.