Artillery fire on Korean border
 

This is dominating the Japanese news, for good reason. This is from the BBC.

BBC News - Artillery fire on Korean border

South Korea says it has returned fire after North Korea fired around 200 artillery shells onto one of its border islands, reportedly killing one marine.

The South's military was placed on its highest non-wartime alert after the shells landed on Yeonpyeong island.

North Korea has not yet commented on the incident, in which three marines and two civilians were also injured.

Correspondents say this is one of the most serious since the the Korean War ended without a peace treaty in 1953.

There have been occasional cross-border clashes since, but the latest incident comes at a time of rising regional tension.

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be ill and trying to engineer the succession of his youngest son. And on Saturday, North Korea showed off what it claimed was a new uranium enrichment facility - potentially giving it a second route to a nuclear weapon.

The move prompted the US special representative for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to rule out the resumption of six-party talks on resolving the nuclear issue.

South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Hee-jung also said it was investigating a possible link between the artillery attack and recent maritime exercises near the western sea border earlier on Tuesday.

'Illegal firing'
South Korean officials said artillery rounds began landing on Yeonpyeong island, near the disputed inter-Korean maritime border about 100km (60 miles) west of the Korean Peninsula.

You can see more information by clicking the link.

This is the second time in a few months that North-Korea has attacked South-Korea. If the South doesn't respond by bombing them, I think this will continue.

So if they respond, everything will be fine?
Please go an play some war games to pass the time, every post you made is annoyingly aimed towards it. And every topic also. I think you don't even understand what a military conflict does to a country and its population.

This seems to be another attempt by the North not to appear weak during the so-called "transition" period between Kim Jong-Il and his son. It's another attempt to show they are ready for anything the South and its allies may throw at them. I seriously doubt if the South would have used this period as a means to usurp power and reunite the country.

I hope this resolves itself peacefully. Seoul is a stone's throw from the DMZ and I'm sure there are plenty of very concerned and scared people there and all over the country.

I am baffled as to the reasoning behind this act. Is the North so desperate for attention they have to resort to violence to be noticed? I would seriously doubt if her neighbors condone this course of action. I'm sure the UN Security Council will meet over this today and we'll see what happens.

Here's to hoping it resolves itself peacefully....

Do you ever think before commenting?!?! :mad:

Yes, I believe this is grand standing for the transition and that South Korea will not provoke open warfare, or push the reunification issue any more now than they have been for the last few years.

Once Kim Jong-Il is gone, though, reunification will certainly be raised again. It comes up periodically, but there is no telling when progress will be made or how.

You know, I may get a warning or even banned for life on this forum, but I really can't overlook this..........I was reading some of your post, and I see that you are pro-war, then I found a thread where you indicate yourself as Arab, and you wonder why people stereotype...............

Arab's are stereotyped as pro-South Korean Hawks??? :confused:

Remember when a South Korean naval vessel was sunken near the North Korean coastlines? People say that North Korea did this. Do you know what the South Korean government did to North Korea?

Nothing.

The South Korean response for this incident?

Nothing.

North Korea is better off brewing a civil war in South Korea than creating an actual military conflict.

I was talking about pro-war

Eh?

That was a bit of a stretch...

Read again, it was meant about every post he made, not only the ones regarding Korea.

I got that...

It's the Arab connection that I'm failing to see.

I get the stereotype when it comes to riding trains and planes etc. But to stretch it to being pro-war?

Anyway... don't want to hijack the thread with this shit. So I'll leave it at that.

Yeonpyeong island shelling video
 

North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Dozens of houses are on fire after the shelling and the South Korea military is now trying to determine the degree of damage. Yeonpyeong is burning up in flames right now.


The North has continuously carried out provocative actions against South Korea, but an outright artillery shelling is unprecedented. Basically, a wartime provocation has now occurred in Yeonpyeong.

South Korean military has returned fire abiding by the engagement rules, and is now analyzing the North's motives. Why the North carried out such an action is irrelevant now. The important issue is that North Korea intentionally carried out an organized attack.

This might be a warning against the South Korean military's "Hoguk" training, which started yesterday. However, firing artillery shells against the South during midday is clearly an act of war. North Korea must take responsibility for this action and the global community, along with South Korea, should seek effective retaliation measures.

Yeah, because Arabs invaded Korea, invaded Vietnam, invaded Iraq, and invaded Afghanistan. It's the Arabs that have 700 military bases around the world, and refuse to remove them even against the will of people and head of states (read: Okinawa). It's Arabs that have the biggest military budget in the world, just as big as the rest of the world combined.

Ups, I forget. It's the Americans.

Not to forget the 2 world wars and countless invasions and occupations done by Europeans prior to America's hegemony. Sure it's the Arabs that are pro-war.

I think that was meant toward YOU. You seem to want to attack China because they're disputing an island which anime-creating Japan says it's theirs. Now it seems you want S. Korea to attack it's neighbor to the north. You want to join the armed forces of another country to fight to defend anime and manga. It's your ridiculous militaristic view of things that make people here question your mental state and capacity, amongst other things. Please give it up.

Before you make yourself look like a fool please research before posting false information.

Somehow you managed to simplify the Korean and Vietnam wars into a day time soap opera. Both wars and their causes were more complex than you make them out to be. I will not provide in depth information about them as you seem not to be a person open to rebuttals. If you are truly a person who thirst for knowledge you will research on your own. But here are two links to get you started.

Cause and Effects of Korean War

The Causes of the Vietnam War

Iraq: I did not support the invasion of Iraq before and still dont. False information made the American public believe that WMD and at one point they had harbored Osama Bin Laden. Once the truth came out support for the Iraqi war fell. Again dont simplify an event just to make yourself look better.


Afghanistan: I wholeheartedly agreed with. when a country harbors those that attack another nation then yes intervening is sometimes warranted. This is not just for the US. If any other nation had been attacked in the same fashion i would have agreed as well. Dont simplify complex situations and give half truths to prove your point, try being objective.

The US does indeed have military bases around the world. But guess what any nation has the right to ask for the removal of those bases and troops whenever they want and the US will comply. What you stated was a blatant lie.

It is also obvious you have no idea what you are talking about in terms of Okinawa. The dispute was not over the Americans completely leaving. It was about relocating the air operations of base to another part of the island and holding true to an agreement that the Japanese themselves had signed in 2006. Also, the possibility of moving 9000 marines possibly to Guam or to another part of the island. The problem was started by Prime Minister Hatoyama for making promises he couldn't keep after coming into power then flip flopping on the issue. Once again get your facts straight before you spout false information. Oh and did you know that an overwhelming majority of Japanese feel the base is necessary. The problem is the noise and pollution that come from the base since its basically right in the middle of the city and its crowded.
U.S., Japan to keep U.S. military base in Okinawa - USATODAY.com

I fail to see what having a large military budget has to do with anything in this thread. It takes money to run a military the US does not have the largest military in terms of personal but it has one of the most advanced in the world and all of that takes money. As a country becomes more technology advanced their military shrinks, the troops are better trained and carry better equipment which means less casualties, therefore having large standing military is not needed. However the cost of maintaining the armed forces does rise.

I will not defend everything my country does but i will also not stand back and let someone spread false information.

I have nothing against Arabs and the person who commented before you should have thought before he spoke. I fail to see an Arab connection to this in the slightest. Anyone who is pro-war let he or her experience it first hand and then lets see if they say same.

The situation in the Korea's is very troubling i too think they are flexing their muscles. However i dont know if an armed response is the best way to go i need to see more info before i decide on that. However the international community needs to project that they will not accept a premeditated strike without "REAL" provocation and i see none here. China so far has been fairly quiet i think they know they cant really be that silent anymore. Too early to tell if anything will happen but its still unfortunate. I work with several Koreans and they are super pissed at N Korea and saying there should be military response. The last thing this world needs is another war.

I didn't say there is a connection between Arab and war. After what happened in 911, its just that a lot of people THINK that there is, all that my post was saying is that, its that kind of mentality (see his other post) that made people make that connection. We cannot deny that this kind of stereotype exist, just look at the kind of jokes people pull at comedy club, cartoons and games...

Again, I am not saying that Arab and war is connected, all that I am saying, is that it only take one or two individuals and their comments to make people think that there is a connection...

Now that U.S. military vessels are joining the South Korean "exercises", NK better be careful with their aim. A "stray" shell could trigger more than complaints in the media. Let's hope Kim Jong Il decides to go play with something else for a while before it goes too far.

To be fair to him.. he was only responding to godwine's implied racial slur.

And I think you can say that America invaded Vietnam if you wanted to. It gave military support to a corrupt and incompetent South Vietnamese government simply because it wasn't communist. But I suppose whether that counts as invasion is debatable.

Can't really be considered an invasion, since we were invited in by both the government in power and the French who had supported its establishment once they were ready to get out.

The rest of the details jive with both my memory and research, but has very little to do with the current situation.

Kim Jung Il is insane, but I am confident he recalls why North Korean and Chinese supported troops had to withdraw back to the north. While he will taunt the U.S. till we are on the brink of resuming that war he can't win, I can't see him invading and meeting SK and US troops in a conventional conflict. Of course that doesn't rule out his blowing up the entire NE section of the continent - hiimself with it.

China entered the Korean war later and pushed the US back to where the border is now.

Had it not been for China, Korea would be unified under the US backed government of the South.

I apologize if what I said turn out to be racist. I already explained, I was only saying it's that kind of comment that cause stereotype and prejudice. The topic of war is sensitive enough. It's like me being Chinese, keep saying Japanese is wrong with the recent conflict, people will only relate my comment to my racial background

My response was mainly aimed at Sitron not only did he paint a black and white picture of events but was dead wrong on some of the most important details to back his argument. I am not one of those Americans that will go along with whatever my government does and if i feel its wrong i will speak up. But if you are going to point out America as the bad guy at least get you're facts straight. He might have been just reacting to the comment but he should have rebuffed it in a more accurate way.

godwine explained himself quite well and i took it out of context so i apologize my irritation was not aimed at you.

I'm currently living in South Korea relatively near from the DMZ. Other than the panic buying of food, there is nothing to be panic about.

As you can see, I live in South Korea as well as I understand the Korean language. We are more afraid of a potential coup d'etat march to Seoul by South Korean military officers than North Korea.

Anybody remember the previous two incidents of coup d'etat in South Korea? :confused: Why not? Because this historical fact is scarier than North Korea right now.

It's funny that most of my American co-workers (mostly have lived in SK for over 5 years and wouldn't go back to the USA, yet they already brought their spouse and kids from the USA) said "oh, it's just another average day".

thank you very much for your input.

There is a one huge update recently: the head minister of National Defense in South Korea resigned few hours ago.

North Korea attack: South promises troops increase as China calls for 'restraint' | Mail Online


so what next?

South Korean president rejected China's proposal of future Six Party Talks.

I smell a coup d'etat brewing.

Yes, the US is the biggest war addict this last century and Europe certainly hung with the ol girl back in the day, so has Asia. the Middle east also has had a long running date with war.

The answer is simple..War works, the strong subugate the weak through war, the strong take what they want from the weak through war. The only way the weak are protected from the strong is if other's who are strong decide to intervene.

History supports this through the dawn of time. To stop war and man's infatuation with her you have to stop greed. Stop mankind's desire to better themselves by any means required. Tall order that, no one has succeeded in the past 20,000 years.

North Korea will cease to be a viable state by 2020, time and patience will better play out than rushing towards war.

Unless the North sees nothing lost in an all or nothing suicidal invasion.

That was an idiot statement.

I'm ex military, The US likes to fight wars. ww1, ww2, Korea, Vietnam, Afganistan, Iraq twice.. That doesn't count the 20 times we been down in south and central America..the Philppeens, Cuba, Grenada..Boxer rebellion in China...Mexico, and no I don't mean Mexican American war..Spanish American war was 1898..so that's close enough. Plus all the stuff the CIA did covertly.

I'm not against any of that, for it actually, I'm just saying. Empires are built like that. We tend to have a difficult time admitting to ourselves that we are in fact an empire.

I imagine it is the time for empires to be formed economically rather than by force.

This latest NK nonsense is absurd, and it scares me honestly.

Empires utilize both aspects for growth. The primary problem with empires is they tend to stop growing and become decadent. Rot from the inside out then collapse like a hollow tree. Empires, to stay strong must grow continually, allways looking outward to increase it's strength. It can become a vicious cycle.

That's an idiotic statement.

You can say that, but the History is behind the statement. I allready showed how often the US has been involved in wars just this century.

Still, how bout this? Mankind is greedy and desires only things forhimself and willingly fights anyone else to get what he wants.

Not really scary. South Korean conservative politicians are using this incident as an excuse to block next year's failed policies.

So who's the main benefactor of the Yeongpyeong-do Barrage? It's not the North. It's not the USA. It's the current South Korean president in power.

It really makes me wonder why the Japanese and American media over-react to this incident.

South Korea has vowed to retaliate to a point where NK will be incapacitated if it provokes once more.
America and SK performed massive drills near NK.
America and Japan performed gigantic drills near NK (44000 troops i think)
America, SK, Japan, China and many other countries support NK financially, a lot, not just SK, due to the 1953 armistice.
China until recently was thought to be backing NK fully with it's defense of the SK ship-sinking, though the cables tell a different story.

Most of what you said is so wrong.
No over reaction, NK is unpredictable to it's closest ally, China, and it has nukes and missiles to launch them with, which they've tested in the sea of Japan.
The leader is dying, and self righteous, and trying to give his son a country stronger than the one he's been leading...

Seriously. Pay attention.

Yeah. And I'm a South Korean living near the DMZ.

Seriously. Pay attention by looking at the South Korean public. We are more anti-government after this incident.

Think beyond the war and look closely at the South Korean National Assembly in Yeoido. It's actually collapsing.

North Korea doesn't need to make war. They are already collapsing the South Korean government without firing a single bullet after the island barrage.

I checked some polls a few days ago that (yeah they only included a few thousand people) but seemed to show a general sentiment of "We want revenge/war" from people in Seoul.
The anti-government people seemed like a minority, and even so the sentiment was against the government's weak reaction to the north.

Anyways, South Korea is not the biggest factor in this equation with regards to war or no war. It's a nutcase with nukes and no friends, who no one feels able to control, at the drop of a hat he could flick a switch and bye bye seoul or some city in japan or who knows.

Anti-gov is the biggest social faction in huge South Korean websites like Daum, Naver, and Yahoo Korea.

Read Korean websites (and actually learn Korean) and see how different they are from the official statements shown in Western press.

How hawkish. Well... There's always be a Westerner who would shout this kind of statement.

Here's the running gag in the South Korean internet-space: "If there would be a war, our president will flee to Japan instantly."