Obama: We Will Defend South Korea
FILE - This April 15, 2009 file photo shows students playing chess at Plaza de Mayo during the Argentina's School Chess Day in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, file) / Natacha Pisarenko
President Obama on Tuesday pledged the United States would defend South Korea after what the White House branded a provocative, outrageous attack by North Korea on its neighbor. Its options limited, the U.S. sought a diplomatic rather a military response to one of those most ominous clashes between the Koreas in decades.
"South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war," Mr. Obama said in his first comments about the North Korean shelling of a South Korean island. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."
S. Korea Decries "Inhumane Atrocities" in Clash
North Korea Warns of More Military Strikes
The White House issued a statement late Tuesday that read in part, "This evening, President Obama called President Lee to tell him that the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with our close friend and ally, the Republic of Korea. The President strongly condemned the attack by North Korea on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeoung, which took the lives of at least two Koreans and injured many more."
In an interview with ABC News, Mr. Obama said, "We've strongly condemned the attack... We are rallying the international community once again to put pressure on North Korea."
Working to head off any escalation, the U.S. did not reposition any of its 29,000 troops in the South or make other unplanned military moves after North Korea fired salvos of shells into the island, setting off an artillery duel between the two sides.
The president, speaking to ABC News, would not speculate when asked about military options. He was expected to telephone South Korean President Lee Myung-bak late Tuesday night. He met earlier with his top national security advisers to discuss next steps.
Although already planned for months, the White House described the pending arrival of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group to South Korean waters as a timely demonstration of "the strength of the ROK(Republic of Korea)-U.S. Alliance and our commitment to regional stability through
deterrence."
In a statement released Tuesday night, the White House said the ship, along with five other U.S. war ships, would arrive off the Korean peninsula on Nov. 28 and participate in long-planned military exercises with the South until Dec. 1. Such U.S.-South Korean military drills are often labeled by the North as provocation.
Washington has relatively few options when dealing with Pyongyang. Military action is particularly unappealing, since the unpredictable North possesses crude nuclear weapons as well as a huge standing army. North Korea exists largely outside the system of international financial and diplomatic institutions that the U.S. has used as leverage in dealing with other hostile countries, including Iran.
North Korea has also resisted pressure from its major ally, China, which appears to be nervous about the signs of instability in its neighbor.
"We strongly condemn the attack and we are rallying the international community to put pressure on North Korea," Obama said in the ABC interview, specifically citing the need for China's help. Obama said every nation in the region must know "this is a serious and ongoing threat."
An administration official said Tuesday evening that U.S. officials in Washington and in Beijing were appealing strongly to China to condemn the attack by arguing that it was an act that threatened the stability of the entire region, not just the Korean peninsula. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates phoned South Korea's defense minister to express sympathy for the deaths of two of the South's marines in the artillery shelling of a small South Korean island and to express appreciation "for the restraint shown to date" by the South's government, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Obama called North Korea's action "just one more provocative incident" and said he would consult with Lee on an appropriate response.
In his phone call to South Korea's defense minister, Gates said the U.S. viewed recent attacks as a violation of the armistice agreement that ended the Korea War in 1953, and he reiterated the U.S. commitment to South Korea's defense, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
Obama was awakened at 4 a.m. Tuesday with the news. He went ahead with an Indiana trip focused on the economy before returning to the White House after dark.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. would take a "deliberate approach" in response to what he also called provocative North Korean behavior. At the same time, other administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the emerging strategy, said the White House was determined to end a diplomatic cycle that officials said rewards North Korean brinksmanship.
In the past, the U.S. and other nations have sweetened offers to North Korea as it has developed new missiles and prototype nuclear weapons. North Korea is now demanding new one-on-one talks with the United States, which rejects that model in favor of group diplomacy that includes North Korea's protector, China.
"We're not going to respond willy-nilly," Toner said. "We believe that it's important that we keep a unified and measured approach going forward."
Both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill accused North Korea of starting the skirmish.
The violence comes as the North prepares for a dynastic change in leadership and faces a winter of food and electricity shortages. It is the latest of a series of confrontations that have aggravated tensions on the divided peninsula.
The incident also follows the North's decision last week to give visiting Western scientists a tour of a secret uranium enrichment facility, which may signal an expansion of the North's nuclear weapons program. Six weeks ago, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il anointed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his heir apparent.
The administration official said the U.S. did not interpret North Korea's aggression as a desire to go to war, but as yet another effort to extract concessions from the international community.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said no new equipment or personnel have been relocated to South Korea, while Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz seemed to shrug off the latest incident as something that Seoul can handle on its own.
"The North Koreas have undertaken over time a number of provocations that have manifested themselves in different ways," Schwartz said.
The artillery exchange was only the latest serious incident between the two nations. In March, a South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, exploded and sank in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. South Korea accused the North of torpedoing the vessel; the North denied the allegation.
In August, the South Korean military reported that the North had fired 110 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea near the disputed sea border but said the shells fell harmlessly into North Korean waters.
South Korean officials said Tuesday's clash came after Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills near the small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.
When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into the water near the disputed sea border, the North bombarded Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population.
Recent joint U.S.-Korean naval exercises and strenuous denunciations of the North may only have provoked the regime in Pyongyang. Some experts say the secretive regime may be trying to promote Kim Jong Un as a worthy successor who, like his father, is capable of standing up to the U.S.
"I think it may be all wrapped in this succession planning, in the way the North is looking at it," said Robert RisCassi, a retired Army general who commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 1990-93.
The U.S.-South Korea exercises also angered China. Beijing is regarded as the key to any long-term diplomatic bargain to end North Korea's nuclear program and reduce tensions on the peninsula.
But U.S. officials say the North's motives and internal politics are opaque and sometimes appear inconsistent.
"I don't know the answer to any question about North Korea that begins with the word 'why,"' Gates told reporters Monday.
CBS/AP "South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war," Mr. Obama said in his first comments about the North Korean shelling of a South Korean island. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."
S. Korea Decries "Inhumane Atrocities" in Clash
North Korea Warns of More Military Strikes
The White House issued a statement late Tuesday that read in part, "This evening, President Obama called President Lee to tell him that the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with our close friend and ally, the Republic of Korea. The President strongly condemned the attack by North Korea on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeoung, which took the lives of at least two Koreans and injured many more."
In an interview with ABC News, Mr. Obama said, "We've strongly condemned the attack... We are rallying the international community once again to put pressure on North Korea."
Working to head off any escalation, the U.S. did not reposition any of its 29,000 troops in the South or make other unplanned military moves after North Korea fired salvos of shells into the island, setting off an artillery duel between the two sides.
The president, speaking to ABC News, would not speculate when asked about military options. He was expected to telephone South Korean President Lee Myung-bak late Tuesday night. He met earlier with his top national security advisers to discuss next steps.
Although already planned for months, the White House described the pending arrival of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group to South Korean waters as a timely demonstration of "the strength of the ROK(Republic of Korea)-U.S. Alliance and our commitment to regional stability through
deterrence."
In a statement released Tuesday night, the White House said the ship, along with five other U.S. war ships, would arrive off the Korean peninsula on Nov. 28 and participate in long-planned military exercises with the South until Dec. 1. Such U.S.-South Korean military drills are often labeled by the North as provocation.
Washington has relatively few options when dealing with Pyongyang. Military action is particularly unappealing, since the unpredictable North possesses crude nuclear weapons as well as a huge standing army. North Korea exists largely outside the system of international financial and diplomatic institutions that the U.S. has used as leverage in dealing with other hostile countries, including Iran.
North Korea has also resisted pressure from its major ally, China, which appears to be nervous about the signs of instability in its neighbor.
"We strongly condemn the attack and we are rallying the international community to put pressure on North Korea," Obama said in the ABC interview, specifically citing the need for China's help. Obama said every nation in the region must know "this is a serious and ongoing threat."
An administration official said Tuesday evening that U.S. officials in Washington and in Beijing were appealing strongly to China to condemn the attack by arguing that it was an act that threatened the stability of the entire region, not just the Korean peninsula. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates phoned South Korea's defense minister to express sympathy for the deaths of two of the South's marines in the artillery shelling of a small South Korean island and to express appreciation "for the restraint shown to date" by the South's government, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Obama called North Korea's action "just one more provocative incident" and said he would consult with Lee on an appropriate response.
In his phone call to South Korea's defense minister, Gates said the U.S. viewed recent attacks as a violation of the armistice agreement that ended the Korea War in 1953, and he reiterated the U.S. commitment to South Korea's defense, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
Obama was awakened at 4 a.m. Tuesday with the news. He went ahead with an Indiana trip focused on the economy before returning to the White House after dark.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. would take a "deliberate approach" in response to what he also called provocative North Korean behavior. At the same time, other administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the emerging strategy, said the White House was determined to end a diplomatic cycle that officials said rewards North Korean brinksmanship.
In the past, the U.S. and other nations have sweetened offers to North Korea as it has developed new missiles and prototype nuclear weapons. North Korea is now demanding new one-on-one talks with the United States, which rejects that model in favor of group diplomacy that includes North Korea's protector, China.
"We're not going to respond willy-nilly," Toner said. "We believe that it's important that we keep a unified and measured approach going forward."
Both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill accused North Korea of starting the skirmish.
The violence comes as the North prepares for a dynastic change in leadership and faces a winter of food and electricity shortages. It is the latest of a series of confrontations that have aggravated tensions on the divided peninsula.
The incident also follows the North's decision last week to give visiting Western scientists a tour of a secret uranium enrichment facility, which may signal an expansion of the North's nuclear weapons program. Six weeks ago, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il anointed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his heir apparent.
The administration official said the U.S. did not interpret North Korea's aggression as a desire to go to war, but as yet another effort to extract concessions from the international community.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said no new equipment or personnel have been relocated to South Korea, while Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz seemed to shrug off the latest incident as something that Seoul can handle on its own.
"The North Koreas have undertaken over time a number of provocations that have manifested themselves in different ways," Schwartz said.
The artillery exchange was only the latest serious incident between the two nations. In March, a South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, exploded and sank in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. South Korea accused the North of torpedoing the vessel; the North denied the allegation.
In August, the South Korean military reported that the North had fired 110 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea near the disputed sea border but said the shells fell harmlessly into North Korean waters.
South Korean officials said Tuesday's clash came after Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills near the small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.
When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into the water near the disputed sea border, the North bombarded Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population.
Recent joint U.S.-Korean naval exercises and strenuous denunciations of the North may only have provoked the regime in Pyongyang. Some experts say the secretive regime may be trying to promote Kim Jong Un as a worthy successor who, like his father, is capable of standing up to the U.S.
"I think it may be all wrapped in this succession planning, in the way the North is looking at it," said Robert RisCassi, a retired Army general who commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 1990-93.
The U.S.-South Korea exercises also angered China. Beijing is regarded as the key to any long-term diplomatic bargain to end North Korea's nuclear program and reduce tensions on the peninsula.
But U.S. officials say the North's motives and internal politics are opaque and sometimes appear inconsistent.
"I don't know the answer to any question about North Korea that begins with the word 'why,"' Gates told reporters Monday.
Popular on CBSNews.com
-
One year after Afghan massacre, villagers work with U.S. troops One year after U.S. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians, the villagers in the town where the atrocity took place have joined the U.S. special forces stationed there to assist in the fight against the Taliban.
- 50th Paris Air Show 13 Photos
- Italy top court cites "erotic game" hypothesis in Knox case
- Torrential rain devastates Northern India 15 Photos
- Widespread protests in Brazil 23 Photos
- Hungary indicts 98-year-old for Nazi war crimes
- Egypt and Ethiopia try to roll back threats of war
- Protesters clash with Brazil police in Sao Paulo
- Basement living in China 6 Photos
The exit of American influence in the far east may be similar to the ritish...but when the day comes...South Korea will be the home to the Unified Korean government...and Kim will be long gone. Korea needs every bit of land to take care of its people...and nuclear pits don't assist in that long range plan. Hope North Korea wakes one day to the demise of its little 'Mussolini' hanging by his heels.
should have been "Obama: We Will Support South Korea"
Don't write checks first that the South Koreans will have to cash later, instead pledge steadfast support for South Korea and find out from them what they want us to do.
The China that underwrote North Korea last time, once we arrived at the Yalu, is not the same China that sits poised now to be 'the' economic superpower of the 21st century - they don't want instability and chaos, particularly from an international problem child that shares a border with them. Let South Korea make the play, it's their card game.
INSTEAD, tell S Korea to go phux themselves, get our 29,000 people out of there and we stop being the dam global police force eh?
So, this merry-go-around keeps turning and turning.
Only thing Obama has is his mouth. He has no clue what is going on in this world.
Hialeahtom
Right, because after EIGHT years with 2 wars we didnt need thanks to the Bush regime, our military is broke, broken, defeated, pistol whipped, our planes, tanks and equipment trashed from 8 years in the desert sand, we are finished and through there and economically, only option would be push the RED button Mr President cause in a ground/air war with N Korea we would LOSE.
LOL yeah with WHAT? we are in the middle of a deep recession with a military all but dead after over 8 years with 2 wars we didn't need!
"Its options limited, the U.S. sought a diplomatic rather a military response"
Translated into ENglish that says we are stone cold dead BROKE, with a mostly volunteer military that is beaten down, tired, with equipment all but destroyed in 8 years in 2 wars in the harsh desert sands, we're lucky CHina doesn't invade at this point cause they certainly could take us out now.
"South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war,"
Ally eh? and what exactly has S Korea DONE for the USA? seems to me these so called "allies" like S Korea, Isfake and the others are nothing but huge, bloated cash sucking sponges sucking up the money, aid and food from US while giving absolutely nothing back in return!
.
A war with North Korea would be a REAL war... not the phony, one-sided TV "wars" that Iraq and Afghanistan have been.
We'd best talk... cause we sure can't fight.