DPRK feared to provoke ROK in early 2014: Seoul

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is feared to conduct provocations against the Republic of Korea in early 2014, Seoul said Tuesday, noting that internal disorder within the DPRK can be escalated following the execution of Jang Song-thaek, uncle of leader Kim Jong-un.

The ROK's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said during a video conference with top military commanders that "Jang's execution can become a major turning point in 68 years after the DPRK's regime establishment".

In the short term, the execution can strengthen the DPRK's monolithic power structure temporarily, but internal disorder within the DPRK could be escalated in the long run, Kim said.

The minister said that various types of provocations may happen due to excessive competition within the DPRK military for royalty to leader Kim Jong Un, forecasting that it is highly likely for the DPRK to provoke between late January and early March next year. Jang Song-thaek, vice-chairman of the PDRK's top military body, was executed on December 12 after a special military tribunal convicted him of committing "unforgivable crime as traitor". He was stripped of all posts and titles and arrested at enlarged session of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee on Dec 8.

The ROK's President Park Geun-hye voiced her concerns on Monday about rising possibility for reckless provocation from Pyongyang, saying that unexpected accidents such as reckless provocation cannot be ruled out.

Park added that the government should have a thorough grasp of whether the DPRK may seek to cause disorder in the ROK, instructing officials to closely monitor the DPRK's situations and prepare for all possibilities.