South Korea fears new attack by North Korea

SEOUL - South Korea’s intelligence service expects further attacks by its communist northern neighbour, a top official told lawmakers in Seoul Wednesday.

Won Sei Hoon, chief of the South’s National Intelligence Service, told a parliamentary committee that the likelihood for renewed attacks was high, the Yonhap news agency quoted lawmakers as saying.

“North Korea pushed for reckless actions as internal complaints grew over its hereditary power succession and economic situations worsened,” Won said.

North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Il in late September elevated his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to two top positions in the ruling Workers’ Party, an indication that he was the chosen heir.

Won said his agency in August had received intelligence that North Korea might plan to attack the five South Korean islands near the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea.

However, he said the spy service did not expect that civilians would become victims of North Korean artillery shelling.

North Korean artillery bombarded a South Korean island near the disputed maritime border Nov 23, killing two soldiers and two civilians, and wounding over a dozen others.

The navies of South Korea and the US Wednesday concluded four days of joint manoeuvres off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, military officials said.

Further drills were planned to dissuade North Korea from any more provocations, the officials were quoted as saying by Yonhap, without specifying any future dates.

The naval drills, which were planned before the attack, went ahead in the face of objections from Pyongyang in order to demonstrate Washington’s commitment to its ally Seoul, officials said at the time.

The manoeuvres included the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS George Washington, 7,300 personnel and 10 more vessels from the two navies, Yonhap said.