SEOUL, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Liive-fire military drills conducted by South Korea drew a ho-hum reaction Monday from officials in North Korea who said the operation wasn't worth a comment.
A statement from North Korea's official news agency said it was "not worth reacting" to the exercise, The New York Times reported.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Bung-woo said the 94-minute drill included firing K-9 self-propelled howitzers and other weapons deployed on Yeonpyeong Island, which was shelled by North Korea in late November, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
"Maybe we had a little impact," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who was in Pyongyang acting as an unofficial U.S. envoy when the drills ended Monday.
Richardson, a former U.S ambassador to the United Nations, had said North Korean officials offered concessions on its nuclear program, including a resumption of visits by U.N. inspectors, the Times said.
The drills were conducted after the United Nations Security Council failed to reach agreement on a measure calling for restraint by the two Koreas, Yonhap reported. South Korean officials also rejected efforts by China and Russia to cancel the exercise.
Before the exercise, Pyongyang warned it would respond to the drills with "unpredictable self-defensive blows," prompting concern about a possible repeat of last month's artillery assault on Yeonpyeong Island, where two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed.
"During the exercise, the North Korean military strengthened vigilance and maintained preparedness, but did not make any additional provocations," Lee said. "Our military will continue to keep firm military preparedness to defend the northwestern islands and safeguard our sovereignty."
As preparation for possible action from North Korea, Seoul had F-15K fighter jets on standby and about 10 naval ships were deployed, officials said.
