Korean peninsula crisis: RoK fires into disputed waters despite DPRK's warnings

[Parthy]

North Korea becomes UN's 'problem from hell'

The UN Security Council is agonising over how to answer North Korea's artillery attack on the rival South with no meeting yet called on the deadly assault.

The caution of the major powers is a sign of the lack of answers to North Korea's decades of military outrages and nuclear brinksmanship, said diplomats and experts.

UN Security Council members held consultations on the attack yesterday and British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said behind-the-scenes talks would continue through at least today.

The permanent Security Council powers -- United States, China, Russia, Britain and France -- are concentrating on consultations at government level, officials said, stressing the caution with which all wanted to proceed.

No country has asked for a special meeting of the Security Council over the missile attack in which two South Korean soldiers and two civilians were killed.

It is possible that the Security Council, the United Nations' guarantor of international peace, will take no action over Tuesday's attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, diplomats said.

"This is the problem from hell if you are a policymaker," commented Leon Sigal, a veteran analyst on the West's dealings with North Korea.

"There really is no indication that something will happen," said one Security Council nation diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The council's response to North Korea's sinking of a South Korean warship in March still gives nightmares to many representatives. No meeting or statement was agreed until July -- nearly four months later.

The statement condemned the sinking of the ship, in which 46 South Korean navy crew died, but did not blame the North, which denies involvement.

"Everyone was shocked by the Cheonan (warship) affair," said another diplomat. "No one wants to throw their energy into a meeting for no reason. Everyone wants to wait.

"The Chinese are dragging their feet, it's true, but everyone wants to wait and think it out."

North Korea, one of the world's most isolated countries, already faces UN sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme. It has been accused of helping Iran with its nuclear drive and just shrugs off complaints about its human rights and bellicose attitude toward its neighbours.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...om-hell/articleshow/6985928.cms#ixzz16GuEIJWC

 

[Parthy]

North Korea warns of more strikes, blames US as carrier heads in

North Korea on Thursday blamed the South and the US for provoking its artillery bombardment and warned it was ready to strike again, as a US carrier headed in for war games off the tense peninsula.

World powers agonised over how to deal with the volatile and nuclear-armed communist regime over its attack on a Yellow Sea island, in what one veteran North Korea watcher labelled a diplomatic "problem from hell".

Isolated North Korea charged in a statement that "the US can never evade responsibility for the recent exchange of fire", which saw four people killed when Pyongyang's forces shelled the island in disputed waters on Tuesday.

"If the warmongering South Korean puppets fail to return to their senses and commit another reckless military provocation, our army will carry out second and third rounds of powerful physical retaliatory strikes without hesitation."

The warning came as the US and South Korean navies plan to hold a four-day naval exercise in the Yellow Sea from Sunday that will involve a strike group headed by aircraft carrier the USS George Washington.

Although the show of allied maritime firepower had been scheduled well before this week's attacks, the US military said, it would also demonstrate the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence".

South Korea also said Thursday it would "sharply increase military forces, including ground troops, on the five islands in the Yellow Sea and allocate more of its budget toward dealing with North Korea's asymmetrical threats".

Enraged by the first shelling of its civilians since the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea was still counting the cost of the attack on Yeonpyeong island, which lies near the tense post-war sea demarcation line.

The explosions that shattered the calm of the remote islet killed two marines and two civilians, wounded 18 others, left 22 buildings in charred ruins and sent hundreds of terrified residents fleeing to the mainland.

Newspapers have called for revenge against the "mad dog" regime, protesters have burnt North Korea's flag, and some politicians have berated President Lee Myung-Bak for not responding forcefully enough when the South returned fire.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with ally South Korea, where 28,500 American troops are stationed, facing off across a Cold War era frontier against the regime run by "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il.

The world has often been baffled by the regime ruling impoverished North Korea, which has staged two nuclear tests, fired missiles over Japan and this month showed off to a US academic a modern new nuclear facility.

Many observers believe Tuesday's attack was meant to highlight the military credentials of the leader-in-waiting -- Kim's little-known 27-year-old son Kim Jong-Un, who two months ago took a key military post.

The opaque nature of the regime, and its history of brinkmanship, has left world powers at a loss at how to deal with Pyongyang -- a problem vastly compounded by divisions within the international community.

North Korea has also rejected a proposal by the US-led United Nations Command, which supervises the armistice, to hold military talks on the attack, Yonhap news agency reported citing a South Korean defence official.

While the US, European powers, South Korea and Japan have long pushed hard to sanction the regime, China and Russia have favoured a softer line with Pyongyang, a Cold War era ally and neighbour to both.

When an intergovernmental expert panel found that a North Korean submarine in March torpedoed and sank a South Korean corvette the Cheonan, killing all 46 sailor aboard, China refused to blame the Pyongyang regime.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in Moscow that "China is firmly committed to maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and opposes any provocative military acts".

It was not clear whether Wen was referring to the North Korean shelling or to the planned US-South Korean military exercises. Beijing has bitterly opposed similar war games there in the past.

North Korea expert Peter Beck, with the US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations, said: "In the wake of the Cheonan sinking, Beijing showed us that they are more than willing to put up with Pyongyang's worst behaviour."

"Given that this incident brings us closer to the brink of war than the Cheonan, Beijing might conclude that enough is enough and quietly put their foot down, but I am not holding my breath."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ads-in-/articleshow/6987049.cms#ixzz16HsVCnNE

 

[SHASH2K2]

If N korea does anything now USA will not do anything .They will just bomb the shit out of them . To ground troops attack no capture of territory.Just send them to stone age and leave it to china to tackle their poor neighbor.

 

[Parthy]

SKorea to strengthen military forces on border islands

South Korea
will strengthen its military forces on five islands bordering North Korea following a deadly artillery attack by Pyongyang, the presidential palace said Thursday.

The government "has decided to sharply increase military
forces, including ground troops, on the five islands in the Yellow Sea and allocate more of its budget toward dealing with North Korea's asymmetrical threats," said senior public affairs secretary Hong Sang-Pyo.

He said the military, which has faced media criticism for an allegedly weak response to Tuesday's shelling, would also change its rules of engagement.

Hong described existing rules as "rather passive" and focused on stopping a conflict escalating. The new rules would "change the paradigm", Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying without elaborating.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting of security and economic ministers, presided over by President Lee Myung-Bak.

The North's shelling killed four people and inflicted widespread damage on Yeonpyeong, one of several islands near the tense and disputed Yellow Sea border with the North.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/SKorea-to-strengthen-military-forces-on-border-islands/5594/1/10.html

 

[SHASH2K2]

South Korea defence minister resigns​

SEOUL: South Korea's defence minister today resigned, two days after an artillery attack by North Korea killed four people on small island near their disputed frontier.

The move came as President Lee Myung-bak vowed to send more troops to the island and as residents tried to salvage belongings from its blackened wreckage. Pyongyang warned of additional attacks if provoked.

Yim Tae-hee, presidential chief of staff, said Lee accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Kim Tae-young and said a new chief was to be announced tomorrow. The outgoing minister will keep his job until his replacement is announced, he said.

In May, the outgoing minister offered to resign following the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on North Korea. Yim said the president delayed accepting Kim's resignation offer until today.

He said Lee decided to accept the resignation because of recent military incidents and to improve the military's atmosphere.

The North's bombardment of the tiny South Korean island of Yeonpyeong on Tuesday was the first such attack on a civilian area, raising fears of an escalation leading to a new war on the Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Washington ratcheted up pressure on China to rein in its ally North Korea, and China urged both sides to show restraint.

The South Korean president also replaced his aide in charge of defense affairs, Yim said.

The defense minister's resignation came after fierce criticism of the government's response to the North Korean shelling.

Yonhap news agency reported that lawmakers in the ruling and opposition parties demanded his dismissal as well as those of military leaders and some presidential aides.

Read more: South Korea defence minister resigns - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...resigns/articleshow/6989349.cms#ixzz16Iinz1Ke

 

[The Messiah]

This looks like well orchestrated move by the yanks to show north korea and china where they actually stand.

They always make subtle moves which angers the other side and retaliate as a result then the media kicks into gear and tells the world how north korea started firing first.

 

[AirforcePilot]

North Korean Leader, Son Visited Base Before Attack on South


North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and his son and successor Jong Un reportedly visited the artillery base from where shells were fired at a South Korean island just hours before the attack, South Korean media reported on Thursday.

North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island that killed two South Korean marines and two civilians on Tuesday was probably ordered by Kim Jong Il himself, the Joongang Daily quoted a well-informed government source as saying, according to a Reuters report.

Seoul government officials contacted by Reuters could not comment on the reports.

The United States says it believes North Korea's actions were an isolated act tied to leadership changes in Pyongyang, and many experts say the North carried out the shelling to burnish the image of the inexperienced and little-known younger Kim.

The ailing leader is desperate to give a lift to his youngest son, named as heir apparent to the family dynasty in September, but who has little clear support in the military.

South Korean media reported the father and son had met General Kim Kyok-sik, the commander of the frontline fourth corps in charge of a Navy base in South Hwanghae province, just before the North shelled the island.

A member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee said military intelligence obtained the information and was trying to figure out whether the visit was directly related to the attack, the Chosun Ilbo reported, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, North Korea warned of more attacks if South Korea takes any military actions following the North's deadly artillery attack.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed to send more troops to the front-line South Korean island as his defense minister resigned amid intense criticism following the deadly assault by Pyongyang. The announcement came as residents tried to salvage belongings from the blackened wreckage of their homes.

Hours before Defense Minister Kim Tae-young's resignation, lawmakers had lashed out at the government, claiming officials were unprepared for Tuesday's attack and that the military response to the North's barrage was too slow. Even those in Lee's ruling party demanded Kim's dismissal as well as those of military leaders and some presidential aides.

Lee accepted Kim's resignation and a new defense chief will be announced Friday, presidential chief of staff Yim Tae-hee said.

Skirmishes between the Korean militaries are not uncommon, but North Korea's heavy bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island was the first on a civilian area, raising fears of an escalation that could lead to a new war on the Korean peninsula. South Korean troops had returned fire and scrambled fighter jets in response.

Seoul and Washington ratcheted up pressure on China to rein in its ally North Korea, and China on Thursday urged both sides to show restraint.

Reporters allowed for the first time onto the island found streets strewn with broken glass and charred debris. Blackened beer bottles lay beside what was left of a supermarket as coast guard officers patrolled in pairs past deserted offices and schools used by relief workers for meetings and meals.

Many residents fled as quickly as they could, but restaurant owner Lee In-ku, 46, joined a handful of villagers trying to salvage belongings from half-destroyed homes.

"It was a sea of fire," Lee said of Tuesday's attack. "Many houses were burning and many people were just running around in confusion. It was real chaos."

At an emergency meeting in Seoul on Thursday, President Lee ordered top-level weapons for troops manning the tense Yellow Sea, a presidential aide said.

"We should not ease our sense of crisis in preparation for the possibility of another provocation by North Korea," presidential spokesman Hong Sang-pyo quoted Lee as saying. "A provocation like this can recur any time."

Hong said South Korea will sharply raise the number of ground troops on Yeonpyeong and four other islands, reversing a 2006 decision to draw down forces. He declined to discuss specifics but said troops there currently are about 4,000.

He also said the military would change its rules of engagement to better counter North Korean provocations.

The defense minister's resignation came hours after he visited Yeonpyeong, home to military bases as well as a fishing community of 1,300 residents. It lies about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from South Korea's western port of Incheon, and just 7 miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores

Two marines and two civilians were killed in Tuesday's exchange, and at least 18 people — most of them troops — were wounded.

Marine Lt. Col. Joo Jong-wha acknowledged that the island is acutely short of artillery, saying it has only six pieces, the howitzers used in Tuesday's skirmish.

"In artillery, you're supposed to move on after firing to mask your location so that they don't strike right back at you. But we have too few artillery," he said on Yeonpyeong.

Military officials analyzing debris have not ruled out North Korea's use of thermobaric bombs, which burn more violently and increase casualties and property destruction, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. He asked not to be identified, saying he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The two Koreas are required to abide by an armistice signed at the close of their three-year war, but the North does not recognize the maritime line drawn by U.N. forces in 1953 and considers South Korean maneuvers near Yeonpyeong island a violation of its territory. South Korea was conducting firing drills, though not in North Korea's direction, when the North Korean artillery barrage came Tuesday.

The attack added to animosity from the March sinking of a South Korean warship in nearby waters that killed 46 sailors in the worst military attack on the nation since the Korean War.

The defense minister also offered to resign following that incident, but the president refused.

The shelling occurred as North Korea is undergoing a delicate transition of power from leader Kim Jong Il to his young son Kim Jong Un. The son, who is in late 20s, was made a four-star general and nominated to high-ranking Workers' Party posts in the first steps toward eventually succeeding his father.

North Korea's state news agency reported Monday, a day before the attack, that the elder Kim and the son and other key political and military figures visited duck and fish farms in an area about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the base where the artillery barrage was launched.

The attack alarmed world leaders, including President Barack Obama, who reaffirmed plans for joint maneuvers with Seoul involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea starting Sunday.

North Korea made no specific mention of those exercises but warned Thursday of "strong physical retaliations without hesitation if South Korean warmongers carry out reckless military provocations."

Pyongyang also said Washington was partly to blame for letting South Korea hold artillery drills that it said prompted the artillery barrage.

Washington "should thoroughly control South Korea," it said. The warning was issued by North Korea's military mission at the truce village of Panmunjom and carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration urged China to rein in ally North Korea.

"We really think it's important for the international community to lead, but in particular China," said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington.

South Korea said it will increase diplomatic efforts to get China, which supplied North Korea with troops during the Korean War and remains its main ally and biggest benefactor, to put pressure on Pyongyang.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on all sides to show "maximum restraint" and called again for renewed six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs. Wen said those talks, involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States, are the best way to ensure stability on the peninsula and its denuclearization.

In Seongnam just outside Seoul, military officers, family members and dignitaries mourned the two marines killed in the attack, laying flowers and burning incense at an altar. Funerals are to take place Saturday.

Former President Kim Young-sam used the occasion to criticize North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, saying he is "not a human," and said that a China that defends North Korea "can never be trusted," Yonhap said.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/25/skorea-boosts-security-nkorea-issues-warning/

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Parthy]

SKorea prepares as North warns of more strikes

South Korea has said it would send more troops and guns to frontline islands, as North Korea warned it could follow up this week's deadly shelling with more attacks.

Pyongyang's fresh warning came as a US aircraft carrier headed for the tense peninsula to join war games to be staged as a show of force to the nuclear-armed communist state.

The North's unprecedented artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday killed two marines and two civilians, injured 18 more people and turned homes into charred ruins.

It claimed its first political victim when the South's Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young resigned; following growing criticism that Seoul's military and government reacted too softly to the assault.

The government said Thursday it would revise its rules of engagement, allowing troops to hit back harder if necessary.

Tuesday's attack was the first time the North had shelled a civilian area since the 1950-53 war.

It provoked the worst crisis on the peninsula in years, with the international community agonising over how to respond. South Korea and the United States, among others, pressed China to rein in its neighbour.

The North accused the United States and its "warmongering South Korean puppets" of provoking the attack. It said South Korea's military in an exercise fired shells within what the North claims as its own waters.

The regime said that if the South commits "another reckless military provocation, our army will carry out second and third rounds of powerful physical retaliatory strikes without hesitation".

On the island hit by the North's fiery hail of rockets and missiles, grim-faced soldiers trudged through broken glass, debris and the blackened wreckage of homes.

Authorities were evacuating most of the remaining residents. Hundreds of terrified islanders fled soon after the surprise bombardment.

Stung by criticism from newspapers crying for revenge, the South said the current "rather passive" rules of engagement would be completely revised.

The military will reinforce ground forces, especially on five border islands, and set different levels of counter-attack "depending on whether attacks are targeted against civilians or the military", the presidential office said.

World powers are struggling to draw up a response to the latest actions by a regime that has in recent years staged two nuclear tests and fired long-range missiles.

It is also accused of sinking a South Korean warship in March with the loss of 46 lives, a charge it denies.

Many observers believe the attack was meant to highlight the military credentials of heir apparent Kim Jong-Un, youngest son of leader Kim Jong-Il.

A senior Seoul government official, speaking to foreign reporters on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday's attack must have been ordered by leader Kim in person.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/SKorea-prepares-as-North-warns-of-more-strikes/5598/1/10.html

 

[Parthy]

China opposes United States-Korea military exercise

North Korea's key ally China has said it opposed US-South Korea war games to be staged after Pyongyang's deadly artillery barrage, as Premier Wen Jiabao warned against "provocative" acts.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and express concern," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Thursday when asked about the exercises, which are set to kick off in the Yellow Sea as a show of force on Sunday.

"We oppose any act that undermines peace and stability on the (Korean) peninsula."

Tensions are high in the region after North Korean artillery shelled a South Korean island, killing four people and prompting retaliatory fire from the South.

Premier Wen Jiabao said China was against "any provocative military
acts" on the Korean peninsula and urged all sides to "show restraint", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement released Thursday.

It was not clear whether he was referring to the North-South exchange of fire or the planned US-South Korean military exercises.

The United States and South Korea
, which have both appealed to Beijing to use its influence to rein in its wayward ally, are planning a four-day naval show of force against North Korea that will include a US aircraft carrier
.

China has previously come out strongly against such exercises in its backyard, saying they risk exacerbating tensions.

South Korea said Thursday it would seek cooperation from China and Russia over the issue.

Beijing, which is North Korea's closest ally and source of economic support, has so far refused to take sides, merely calling for "restraint" from all parties.

The South is weighing what support it will get from the two nations before deciding whether to refer Tuesday's attack to the UN Security Council, where China and Russia hold veto power as permanent council members.

Earlier this year, China blocked efforts by South Korea and other nations to secure UN condemnation of North Korea over the torpedoing of a South Korean naval ship that was blamed on Pyongyang and in which 46 sailors died.

Tuesday's shelling occurred a day after the disclosure that the North has an apparently working uranium enrichment plant -- giving it a potential second way to build atomic bombs in addition to its plutonium operation.

Wen called for the resumption of stalled six-nation disarmament talks that include China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia, without suggesting a timetable.

China has avoided joining world condemnation of North Korea for either the shelling or the reported nuclear plant.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/China-opposes-United-States-Korea-military-exercise/5602/1/13.html

 

[Parthy]

S Korea names new defence minister in wake of shelling

South Korea named a presidential security aide and former career soldier as its new defence minister on Friday after the previous minister quit over North Korea's deadly artillery bombardment.

Lee Hee-Won takes over from Kim Tae-Young, who resigned Thursday amid strong criticism that the military had reacted feebly to Tuesday's attack.

The shelling, the first to hit civilian areas in the South since the 1950-53 war, killed four people on a border island and set homes ablaze. South Korea fired 80 shells at the North from the island in response.

Lee, 61, is a former four-star general who became deputy chief of the US-South Korea Joint Forces Command in 2005.

He retired from the military in 2006 and was appointed presidential security aide in May, after the sinking of a South Korean warship.

The South accuses the North of torpedoing the ship, a charge it denies. The incident fuelled cross-border tensions, which became acute after the artillery barrage.

Both the government and the military have been widely accused by the media and legislators of a weak response to the bombardment.

Seoul has said it will send more troops and guns to border islands and change the rules of engagement to let the military hit back harder in the event of another North Korean attack.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/S-Korea-names-new-defence-minister-in-wake-of-shelling/5599/1/13.html

 

[SHASH2K2]

North Korea warns of 'brink of war'​

YEONPYEONG ISLAND: North Korea warned Friday that planned U.S.-South Korean military drills are pushing the peninsula to the brink of war as a senior U.S. military commander toured an island devastated this week by a North Korean artillery barrage.

North Korea's state news agency said drills this weekend involving South Korean forces and a U.S. nuclear powered supercarrier in waters south of Tuesday's skirmish between the rival Koreas are a reckless plan by ``trigger-happy elements'' and that the maneuvers target the North.

``The situation on the Korean peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war,'' the dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency said. ``Gone are the days when verbal warnings are served only.''

North Korea's army and people are ``now greatly enraged'' and ``getting fully ready to give a shower of dreadful fire,'' the agency said. ``Escalated confrontation would lead to a war, and he who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish.''

The comments came as Gen. Walter Sharp, the U.S. military commander in South Korea, paid a visit to the island targeted by the North Korean attack to show solidarity with ally Seoul.

Sharp, dressed in a heavy camouflage jacket and army fatigues and wearing a black beret, walked down a heavily damaged street strewn with debris from buildings. Around him were charred bicycles and shattered bottles of soju, a kind of Korean alcoholic drink.

 

[SHASH2K2]

N Korea warns war games take region to 'brink of war'​

North Korea has warned that the impending joint military exercises by the South and the US are pushing the region to "the brink of war".

A group of naval ships, led by a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier, is heading to the Yellow Sea to take part in the drill, due to begin on Sunday.

At least four people died on Tuesday when the North surprised Seoul by shelling a southern island.

The comments come as the South decides who to appoint as new defence minister.

The previous minister, Kim Tae-young, resigned after criticism that he was too slow to respond to the attack on the island of Yeonpyeong.

The barrage of shells, which killed four South Koreans, is one of the worst incidents between the two Koreas since the end of the Korean war in 1953, which concluded without a peace treaty.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements to stage again war exercises targeted against the [North]," the North's official KCNA news agency said.
'Reckless'

Artillery-like sounds were heard near Yeonpyeong island on Friday. South Korean officials said they were investigating.

The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Seoul, says the sounds appeared to be explosions taking place on North Korean territory.

Military sources, our correspondent adds, say this is possibly a military exercise but adds that the many on the island suspect it may be an attempt to manipulate a tense situation.

As a precaution, residents were ordered to take cover in shelters.

North Korea has warned it will "wage second and even third rounds of attacks without any hesitation if warmongers in South Korea make reckless military provocations again".
Tougher stance

Though organised well ahead of this week's attack, the four-day naval manoeuvres are a show of defensive strength which, as well as angering North Korea, have also unsettled China, its major ally.
In response to Tuesday's incident, South Korea has already increased troop numbers on Yeonpyeong island, and has said it is changing its rules of engagement to allow it to respond more forcefully to similar incidents.

The cabinet had decided that under the old rules of engagement there was too much emphasis on preventing a military incident escalating into something worse, our correspondent says.

In future, the South would implement different levels of response depending on whether the North attacked military or civilian targets, a presidential spokesman said.

President Lee Myung-bak accepted Mr Kim's resignation "to improve the atmosphere in the military and to handle the series of incidents", a presidential official said.

Earlier reports by local news agencies had suggested that Lee Hee-won, 61, had been named as new defence minister but Korean officials later said that no final decision had yet been made.

Mr Lee is a former four-star general who became deputy chief of the US-South Korea Joint Forces Command in 2005.

Whoever is appointed will now have the opportunity to overhaul the country's security apparatus, our correspondent says.

Pyongyang blames Seoul for this week's incident. The South was holding military exercises in the area at the time, and returned artillery fire following the North Korean shelling.

China, which has not apportioned blame, has urged both sides to show restraint.

 

[AirforcePilot]

U.S., South Korea Begin Joint War Games


YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea -- North Korean artillery was heard Sunday on the frontline South Korean island attacked last week, though no shells landed on the island, South Korea's military said.

One artillery round was heard from a North Korean military base north of the sea border dividing the two Koreas, an official with South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules.

Residents of Yeonpyeong Island were ordered to take shelter because of the sound, he said. The evacuation order was later lifted.

Four South Koreans died last week after the North rained artillery on the small Yellow Sea island, which is home to both fishing communities and military bases.

The artillery sound and the evacuation came just hours after South Korea and the United States launched joint military drills near the area.

The exercises came as the North worked to justify one of the worst assaults on South Korean territory since the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea said civilians were used as a "human shield" around artillery positions and lashed out at what it called a "propaganda campaign" against Pyongyang.

It claimed the United States orchestrated last Tuesday's clash so that it could stage joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea with the South that include a U.S. nuclear powered supercarrier -- enraging the North and making neighboring China uneasy.

Also Sunday, a Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul, according to Lee's office, which provided no details. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said they discussed the North Korean attack and how to ease tensions.

The North Korean attack on an area with a civilian population marked a new level of hostility along the rivals' disputed sea border. Only eight months ago, according to the findings of a South Korean-led international investigation, a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean warship in waters farther west, killing 46 sailors.

The aggression could be linked to the North's attempt to strengthen its government as it pursues a delicate transfer of power from leader Kim Jong Il to a young, unproven son. It also may reflect Pyongyang's frustration that it has been unable to force a resumption of stalled international talks on receiving aid in return for nuclear disarmament.

The attack laid bare weaknesses 60 years after the Korean War in South Korea's defenses against the North, which does not recognize the border drawn by the U.N. at the close of the conflict and which considers waters around Yeonpyeong as its territory.

The skirmish prompted President Lee Myung-bak to replace his defense minister on Friday.

At a funeral Saturday near Seoul, South Korea's marine commander, Maj. Gen. You Nak-jun, vowed a "thousand-fold" retaliation for the attack. Dignitaries and relatives laid white flowers at an altar for the two marines killed. The mother of one of the victims fell forward in her chair in grief.

Passers-by paused at Seoul's main train station to watch funeral footage on a big screen.

"Once the enemy attacks us, it is our duty to respond even more strongly," said student Jeon Hyun-soo, 19. "The South Korean people want this."

Elsewhere in Seoul, about 70 former special forces troops protested what they called the government's weak response and scuffled with riot police in front of the Defense Ministry, pummeling the riot troops' helmets with wooden stakes and spraying fire extinguishers.

North Korea's state news agency said that although "it is very regrettable, if it is true, that civilian casualties occurred on Yeonpyeong island, its responsibility lies in enemies' inhumane action of creating a 'human shield' by deploying civilians around artillery positions."

The North said its enemies are "now working hard to dramatize 'civilian casualties' as part of its propaganda campaign."

South Korea was conducting artillery drills Tuesday from the island, located just 7 miles (11 kilometers) from North Korea's mainland, but fired away from the mainland.

The North said it warned South Korea to halt the drills on the morning of the attack, as part of "superhuman efforts to prevent the clash to the last moment."

The North said that Sunday's planned U.S.-South Korean war games showed that the United States was "the arch criminal who deliberately planned the incident and wire-pulled it behind the scene."

The war games, which involve the USS George Washington supercarrier, display resolve by Korean War allies Washington and Seoul to respond strongly to any future North Korean aggression. However, Washington has insisted the drills are routine and were planned well before last Tuesday's attack.

The drills kicked off Sunday morning when ships from both countries entered the exercise zone, an official with South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said on condition of anonymity, citing office rules.

David Oten, a spokesman for the U.S. military in South Korea, said U.S. ships were still steaming toward the area and the drills would not officially begin until later in the day.

North Korea on Saturday warned of retaliatory attacks creating a "sea of fire" if its territory is violated.

The South Korean president told top officials "there is a possibility North Korea may take provocative actions during the (joint) exercise," and urged them to coordinate with U.S. forces to counter any such move, according to a spokesman in the president's office who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing official protocol.

Washington and Seoul have pressed China to use its influence on Pyongyang to ease tensions. China is impoverished North Korea's biggest benefactor and its only major ally.

On Friday, the North conducted an apparent artillery drill within sight of Yeonpyeong island. The warning to Seoul and Washington came as the top U.S. commander in South Korea toured Yeonpyeong island to survey the wreckage from the rain of artillery three days earlier.

The North's artillery barrage Tuesday destroyed civilian homes as well as military bases on Yeonpyeong Island.

Lee has ordered reinforcements for the 4,000 troops on Yeonpyeong and four other Yellow Sea islands, as well as top-level weaponry and upgraded rules of engagement.

Most of the islanders fled to the mainland after the barrage set off fierce blazes that destroyed many of their communities. It will take six months to two years for island communities to rebuild, disaster relief official Kim Sang-ryul said.

Soldiers assembled toilets Saturday for temporary shelters being built on the island by teams of relief workers.

Some South Koreans criticized the government for leaving Yeonpyeong inadequately protected.

"Military-wise, the emergency facilities should have been prepared for something like this, so I think the South Korean military must reinforce them," said Kim Min-yang, a 27-year-old company employee. "I also think we need more dialogue with North Korea."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/27/south-korea-prepare-war-games/?test=latestnews

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Yonhap News Agency
(URGNET) Emergency evacuation order issued for civilians on Yeonpyeong Island, official says (more to follow)

(URGNET) Emergency evacuation order issued for civilians on Yeonpyeong Island, official says (more to follow)

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Top News by AnnNyberg

RT @*******FLASH N.Korea places surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in Yellow Sea - YONHAP

W7VOASteve Herman

Artillery heard on Yeonpyeong according to #ROK military. We have no confirmation that the island is being attacked, however.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

YonhapNews Yonhap News Agency


(URGENT) Explosion sounds of artillery fire heard on Yeonpyeong Island, S. Korean official says

W7VOA Steve Herman

Yonhap quoting #ROK military says "signs" of fresh shelling detected on Yeonpyeong. #Koreas

..........................................................

 

[Neil]

Is North Korea Moving Another 'Red Line'?

North Korea and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near their disputed border in the Yellow Sea/West Sea on Nov. 23. The incident raises several questions, not the least of which is whether Pyongyang is attempting to move the real "red line" for conventional weapons engagements, just as it has managed to move the limit of "acceptable" behavior regarding its nuclear program.

North Korea and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), their disputed western border in the Yellow Sea/West Sea on Nov. 23. The incident damaged as many as 100 homes and thus far has killed two South Korean soldiers with several others, including some civilians, wounded. The South Korean government convened an emergency Cabinet meeting soon after the incident and called for the prevention of escalation. It later warned of "stern retaliation" if North Korea launches additional attacks. Pyongyang responded by threatening to launch additional strikes, and accused South Korea and the United States of planning to invade North Korea, in reference to the joint Hoguk military exercises currently under way in different locations across South Korea.

The incident is the latest in a series of provocations by Pyongyang near the NLL this year following the sinking of the South Korean warship ChonAn in March. Over the past several years, the NLL has been a major hotspot. While most border incidents have been low-level skirmishes, such as the November 2009 naval episode, a steady escalation of hostilities culminated in the sinking of the ChonAn. The Nov. 23 attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeongdo represents another escalation; similar shellings in the past were for show and often merely involved shooting into the sea, but this attack targeted a military base. It also comes amid an atmosphere of higher tensions surrounding the revelation of active North Korean uranium enrichment facilities, South Korea's disavowal of its Sunshine Policy of warming ties with the North and an ongoing power succession in Pyongyang.

Over the years, North Korea has slowly moved the "red line" regarding its missile program and nuclear development. It was always said that North Korea would never test a nuclear weapon because it would cross a line that the United States had set. Yet North Korea did test a nuclear weapon in October 2006, and then another in May 2009, without facing any dire consequences. This indicates that the red line for the nuclear program was either moved, or was rhetorical. The main question after the Nov. 23 attack is whether Pyongyang is attempting to move the red line for conventional attacks. If North Korea is attempting to raise the threshold for a response to such action, it could be playing a very dangerous game.

However, the threat North Korea's nuclear program poses is more theoretical than the threat posed by conventional weapons engagements. Just as it seems that a North Korean nuclear test would not result in military action, the ChonAn sinking and the Nov. 23 attack seem to show that an "unprovoked" North Korean attack also will not lead to military retaliation. If this pattern holds, it means North Korea could decide to move from sea-based to land-based clashes, shell border positions across the Demilitarized Zone or take any number of other actions that certainly are not theoretical.

The questions STRATFOR is focusing on after the Nov. 23 attack are as follows:

Is North Korea attempting to test or push back against limits on conventional attacks? If so, are these attacks meant to test South Korea and its allies ahead of an all-out military action, or is the North seeking a political response as it has with its nuclear program? If the former, we must reassess North Korea's behavior and ascertain whether the North Koreans are preparing to try a military action against South Korea — perhaps trying to seize one or more of the five South Korean islands along the NLL. If the latter, then at what point will they actually cross a red line that will trigger a response?

Is South Korea content to constantly redefine "acceptable" North Korean actions? Does South Korea see something in the North that we do not? The South Koreans have good awareness of what is going on in North Korea, and vice versa. The two sides are having a conversation about something and using limited conventional force to get a point across. We should focus on what the underlying issue is.

What is it that South Korea is afraid of in the North? North Korea gives an American a guided tour of a uranium enrichment facility, then fires across the NLL a couple of days after the news breaks. The South does not respond. It seems that South Korea is afraid of either real power or real weakness in the North, but we do not know which




http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20...readmore&elq=6e6963c2bf624c2ebd50138ce7234e2c

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Some Pics of that day when NK attacked SK base..

Some Pics of that day when NK attacked SK base..

 

[badguy2000]

the pictures are very funny!