US backs S Korea bid for UN action, North to cut last link

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SEOUL, MAY 26

With political and military tension increasing daily on the Korean Peninsula, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Washington would stand beside Seoul as it seeks redress at the United Nations Security Council over North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean warship.

On Wednesday, the North Korean military threatened to “completely block South Korean personnel and vehicles” from a joint industrial park in the North Korean town of Kaesong if the South resumes psychological warfare against the North, mainly through propaganda broadcasts across the border. It also said it would attack and destroy the propaganda loudspeakers to be put up along the border by the South, calling them a “military provocation.”The North cut off some cross-border communication links and expelled eight South Korean government officials from the joint industrial park, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.

Clinton stopped short of detailing what measures would be sought at the Security Council, where China, a veto-wielding member and a North Korean ally, was likely to block attempts to impose new sanctions. “We’re very confident in the South Korean leadership, and their decision about how and when to move forward is one that we respect and will support,” Clinton said at a news meet after meetings with the South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak, and Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan. “I believe that the Chinese understand the seriousness of this issue and are willing to listen to the concerns expressed by both South Korea and the US.”

She spoke of the “immediate crisis” of the sinking that “requires a strong but measured response”.

North Korea has denied any role in the sinking of the ship and the loss of 46 South Korean sailors.

She endorsed President Lee’s “right approach” in trying to avoiding “escalation and a broader conflict” while seeking international support to punish the North. “The key word” during the South Korean leaders’ meetings with Clinton was her strategy of “strategic patience,” said President Lee’s spokesman.

Those comments followed the South’s decision to cut off most trade with the North and the North responding by terminating all communications with the South and threatening to launch artillery shells across the border. nyt

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

North Korea warns South on border tension

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

North Korea on Monday complained that the South was engaging in psychological warfare along their heavily militarised border and warned of unpredictable results including “loss of human lives”.

A statement issued by the North’s official news agency referred to visits by media organisations and “other riff-raffs” close to the border aimed at preparing “anti-North smear campaigns” and urged the United States — the South’s ally — to intervene.

“These days witness a lot of serious developments in the area along the Military Demarcation Line, where huge armed forces are standing in acute confrontation…. They may drive the present touch-and-go situation to a more dangerous phase,” the agency said.

The statement made no mention of the countries’ sea border, near to which a South Korean naval ship sank on Friday due to a mystery explosion.

South Korean officials have so far not suggested Pyongyang was involved in the incident, as a search continues for 46 missing sailors.

Tensions periodically flare along the land border. South Korean activists have regularly tried to send campaign materials, radios and, most recently, satellite telephones over the border as a means to helping undermine the Pyongyang government.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

North Korea warns South to stop tours at border

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – North Korea warned on Monday of unpredictable disaster unless the South and the United States stop allowing tourists inside a heavily armed border buffer that is one of the most visited spots on the peninsula.

World | North Korea

The warning comes as tensions were raised on the peninsula after a South Korean navy ship sank on Friday. Early reports that the North may have been involved spooked markets but were later played down when Seoul said it was almost certain Pyongyang had no part in the incident.

North Korea has made no mention of the ship-sinking incident in its official media.

An unnamed army spokesman of the North’s Korean People’s Army said South Korea was engaged in “deliberate acts to turn the DMZ into theater of confrontation with the (North) and a site of psychological warfare” by allowing tours inside the border zone.

The Demilitarized Zone buffer is the 4-km wide buffer that runs along the military border drawn up under a truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, which was fought between U.S.-led U.N. forces with the South against North Korean and Chinese troops.

Tens of thousands of tourists a year visit the Panmunjom truce village inside the zone as well as other sites showing aspects of the Cold War’s last frontier.

“If the U.S. and the South Korean authorities persist in their wrong acts to misuse the DMZ for the inter-Korean confrontation despite our warnings, these will entail unpredictable incidents including the loss of human lives,” the North’s KCNA news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.

The South’s Korea Tourist Organization said on its website ahead of the warning: “These days the DMZ is a safe destination that we would thoroughly recommend to any traveler.”

Nearly half of the 104 crew members of the South’s surveillance ship remained missing after the vessel sank Friday night after snapping in two apparently from a large explosion.

South Korean officials warned against premature conclusion on the cause of the incident until a thorough probe is conducted.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; editing by Jon Herskovitz and Sugita Katyal)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Would like to see more of mind games in tennis’, says Murray

June 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, June 28 (ANI): British tennis star Andy Murray has said that he would like to see more of mind games in his tennis, similar to sledging involved in cricket and the psychological warfare used by former American tennis star John McEnroe.

“McEnroe said that he used it as a sort of tactic. I mean, I wish there was more of it going on. It makes it more interesting to watch,” the Sunday Express quoted Murray, as saying.

“There is quite a lot of psychology in it but rarely will you see guys sledging each other across the net,” he added.

Murray considers that attitude similar to McEnroe and the words used as weapons by him would liven up matches and will provide thrill to fans.

He highlights World No 1 Rafa Nadal’s tactic of annoying his opponent as a perfect example of gaining the upper hand when it comes to mindset over matter.

“It’s just little things. Nadal always likes to cross the net second. So he waits. Guys sometimes just wait back a bit,” Murray said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Taliban used ‘physical and psychological’ warfare to establish writ in Mingora

June 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Peshawar, June 19 (ANI): The Taliban not only used sophisticated arms and ammunitions to install their command on key installations in Mingora, but also resorted to ‘psychological warfare’ against the security forces, Subedar Fazal Hameed, who defended the Mingora electric grid station for 20 days continuously before getting help from the military, has said.

Hameed, a Frontier Corps subedar, denied the Taliban an access to the grid station, and fought bravely against the insurgents despite being short of arms and ammunition.

Hameed said it was not the physical arms and ammunition which caused him worry, but the ‘psychological warfare’ that bothered him during the 20 days long pitch battle.

“They (Taliban) were conducting psychological warfare,making announcements and threatening us,” said Hameed.

He said the Taliban threatened him and other security personnel who had taken refuge in the grid to surrender immediately or face the consequences, The Daily Times reports.

“We have mined the grid station’s surroundings and the whole area will be reduced to ashes in the next two hours if you do not order your men to surrender,” the extremists warned.

“The Taliban pressurised us both psychologically and militarily. A military officer told me not to heed the Taliban’s threats and give them a good fight. Those words boosted my morale and that of my jawans as well,” Hameed said.

Hameed recalled that the Taliban got infuriated at the news of several policemen from the nearby Rahimabad police station taking refuge at the grid station.

“We demand you hand over the cops. We will cut you in pieces if you continue to defy the Taliban,” the Taliban had threatened.

However, the threats did not deter Hameed, as he continued to put up a brave fight against the Taliban until the army regained the control of the grid in May. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Q+A – Guantanamo guard: It’s psychological warfare

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A Guantanamo prison guard depicted in the National Geographic documentary “Explorer: Inside Guantanamo” attended an advance showing this week and spoke to Reuters afterward about her work in a maximum-security cellblock.

The Army military police corporal is identified by the pseudonym Jane Smith, as required by the conditions under which National Geographic was allowed to film inside the prison for three weeks in August 2008.

Q – Where are you from? A – “Originally, New Mexico”

Q – What are you doing now? A – “I’m unemployed. I got out in January. I’m learning to be a civilian.”

Q – The film shows guards talking about daily battle plans and it refers to the prison as a battlefield. Is that how you view it? A – “We are there to support the battle operations that are happening in Afghanistan. It is very much the detainees telling us how wrong we are, how bad we are. And they very much make it a battleground.

It’s a contest of wills. It very much is psychological warfare. It becomes, not so much us versus them, but at the same time you never want to turn your back towards them. If you did, it would end up coming back at you.”

It’s like they said, the military considers it a front — the complete title of Joint Task Guantanamo is, In Support of Operation Enduring Freedom.”

Q – The film showed you and the other guards dealing with outbursts, taunting and disturbances by individual inmates and groups. Was that common?

A – “It was like that almost every day. I myself have been covered in feces from head to toe. I got it in my mouth. I swallowed it. I walked away. That’s what we do.”

Q – Have you sought any counseling.? A – “I haven’t had time. I’ve also been told (by acquaintances and fellow soldiers) ‘You can’t have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) because you weren’t in Iraq or Afghanistan.’”

Q – Were you able to form individual opinions of the inmates, judge whether they are a terrorist or not? A – “Some of them were nicer than others. But I don’t want to say I formed an opinion one way or another. Like I said, I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I can throw them.

You saw me laughing on the film with … one. He can be quite a (difficult) knucklehead, while he can be quite funny at the same time. It’s that matter of trying to build that rapport. Yes, they hated me, but at the same time they knew that if they needed something or if they deserved it, I would get it for them or I would try my best to get it for them.”

Q – What would you think if an inmate were released in the United States and you encountered one on the street? A – “I would probably flip out, I’m not going to lie. The reason I used a fake name is because I received death threats. They threatened to find me and my family, they threatened to slit my throat. I would not take very kindly to it. I might want to run the other way.”

Q – The film depicts you as growing apart from your sister, who opposed the Guantanamo prison. How are things now? A – “She just wanted her baby sister back. She’s looking into resources to help me.”

Q – The film also shows you wiping your eye as you say you are trying to serve your country but some people don’t understand it. How do you feel about your service. A – “I’m proud of what I’ve done. I thought I was going to be part of something bigger, and I don’t feel like I am.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,