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The KCNA further wrote that “The group of traitors has already<br />

reduced all the agreements reached between the north and the south<br />

in the past to dead documents”and that there was therefore “...no need<br />

for the DPRK to remain bound to those north-south agreements.” All<br />

the agreed points with regard to ending political and military confrontation,<br />

the 1992 Basic Agreement and the points on the West Sea<br />

military boundary line in its appendix would be nullified. Since the<br />

“Lee Myung-bak group” was wholly responsible for the present<br />

tension, it said: “Never to be condoned are the crimes the Lee group<br />

has committed against the nation and reunification by bedevilling<br />

overnight the inter-Korean relations that had developed favorably<br />

amidst the support and encouragement of all the Koreans and<br />

ruthlessly scrapping the inter-Korean agreements.”<br />

The South Korean government deeply regretted the statement<br />

and urged North Korea to return to dialogue as soon as possible. The<br />

Basic Agreement could not be unilaterally abolished. South Korea also<br />

pledged “firm counteraction” against violations of the sea border. The<br />

Ministry of Defence enhanced alert on the West Sea, where the navy<br />

reportedly had deployed a 4,500 ton destroyer and ordered forces to<br />

be prepared for any provocations. It was believed that the statement<br />

aimed to ensure that North Korea became a diplomatic priority for the<br />

new American President Barrack Obama, to put pressure on President<br />

Lee Myung-bak and to raise domestic political support. President Lee<br />

Myung-bak declared hours after the statement: “North Korea must<br />

realize which country out of the many nations in the world sincerely<br />

works to help it. If the North thinks hard enough, it will realize it is<br />

South Korea that will help it with compasssion, and North Korea must<br />

508 Peace-keeping in the Korean Peninsula

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