Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said South Korea had asked China and Russia to intercede with the North to ease tension that has mounted since the U.N. Security Council slapped fresh sanctions on Pyongyang after a new nuclear arms test in February.
But all was calm in the South Korean capital, Seoul, long used to North Korean invective under its 30-year-old leader Kim Jong-un. Offices worked normally and customers crowded into city-center cafes.
Seoul stocks edged up 0.77 percent from a four-and-a-half-month low hit earlier this week, though trading was light with threats from the North still clouding the picture. The won currency gained 0.3 percent.
Other officials in Seoul said surveillance of North Korean activity had been enhanced. Missile transporters had been spotted in South Hamgyong province along North Korea's east coast - possible sites for a launch.
North Korea observes several anniversaries in the next few days and they could be pretexts for military displays of strength. These include the first anniversary of Kim's formal ascent to power, the 20th anniversary of rule by his father Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011, and the birth date next Monday of his grandfather, state founder Kim Il-Sung.
The near-daily threats to South Korea and the United States of recent weeks were muted in state media on Wednesday, with the focus largely on the festivities lying ahead.
By: Brant
After they fire off the missiles (two, three, seven, whatever they have) I am really not sure what the next move is, because it's about the last thing they can do where no response is warranted. They fire them, probably to pass over Japan, the JSDF and US Patriot batteries shoot some fo them down, then what?
ReplyDeleteIf they tried another "Cheonan" or barraged an island there woudl be a response, and things would go from there. But I don't think they want that.