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on American and South Korean forces along the DMZ. On the other<br />

hand, according to Kim (2003), it is unclear whether the hard-line<br />

policy towards the US aimed to raise tension and start war or, as North<br />

Korea asserts, to meet the US hard-line policies towards the North and<br />

its war provocations. In the author’s view, both explanations could be<br />

valid, but it is extremely unlikely that either party aimed to launch a<br />

new war, although in the MAC the North had accused the South of war<br />

preparations altogether 24 times throughout the 1960s.<br />

Kim also notes that throughout 1968, incidents involving the<br />

intrusion of armed spies and clashes along the MDL were more frequent<br />

than in any other year. On 186 days, serious incidents took<br />

place mainly within the DMZ. The death toll was 145 South Korean<br />

soldiers, 18 American soldiers and 35 civilians. The numbers of<br />

wounded were 240, 54 and 16 respectively. In addition, 312 armed<br />

North Korean intruders were killed. 118 Negative peace reached a peak.<br />

Lee (2001b) records that between 1966 and 1968, North Korea<br />

launched armed attacks on UNC/South Korean guard posts in the DMZ<br />

on 244 occasions, causing the deaths of 260 South Korean soldiers, 34<br />

US military personnel, 58 South Korean civilians and 549 North<br />

Korean infiltrators. The number of the wounded was 4<strong>09</strong> South Korean<br />

soldiers, 105 US military personnel and 69 South Korean civilians. Lee<br />

(2001a) points out that when major incidents were raised in the MAC<br />

between 1966 and 1969, more than 70 percent of the North Korean<br />

speeches consisted of political propaganda (cf. p. 96).<br />

According to Downs (1999), between January 1966 and De-<br />

118_ Kim, op. cit., 2003, pp. 184, 191; Mobley, Flash Point North Korea: The Pueblo and<br />

EC-121 Crises (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2003), cover, pp.<br />

11-12.<br />

144 Peace-keeping in the Korean Peninsula

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