[poispanna]

pretty sloppy cut and paste job there mate

South Korea says it has returned fire after North Korea fired around 200 artillery shells at 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 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.

It also comes just over a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was appointed to senior political and military posts, fuelling speculation that he was being prepared to succeed him.
'Illegal firing'

A spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korean shells had started falling in the waters off the island of Yeonpyeong at 1434 (0534 GMT). Some later landed directly on the island.

The South's military immediately fired back some 80 rounds in self-defence, Col Lee Bung-woo added.

A resident on the island, where between 1,200 and 1,300 people live, told the AFP news agency that dozens of houses were damaged, while television pictures showed plumes of smoke rising above the island.

"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN television station. "People are frightened to death."

The military said one marine was killed and three others were injured, according to South Korea's YTN television. Two civilians were also hurt.

The South Korean military has also deployed fighter jets to Yeonpyeong, lies near the disputed inter-Korean maritime border, about 100km (60 miles) west of the Korean Peninsula.


However, President Lee Myung-bak urged officials attending an emergency cabinet meeting to try to prevent any further escalation.

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said that both countries should "do more to contribute to peace".

"What's imperative now is to restart six-party talks as soon as possible," Hong Lei told a news conference in Beijing.

The impact has already been felt on financial markets, with both the Korean won and the Japanese yen falling in value.

This western maritime border, also known as the Northern Limit Line, has been the scene of numerous clashes in the past.

In March, a South Korean warship went down near the border with the loss of 46 lives. International investigators say a North Korean torpedo sank the ship, although Pyongyang has denied any role in the incident.

Since then relations between the two neighbours have remained tense.

North Korea: Timeline 2010

26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors

20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement

July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang

29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move

29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border

12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11818005

[worldofwarcraft]

They would say that.

[elapicearpisp]

I'm waiting for them to send a million troops over the border and then later say that they were attacked first.

[Quigoxito]

Yes, reconciliation will be happening quite soon.

[ggdfgtdfffhfyj]

Why would the US help North Korea? DOH

[johnsonjunior]

Not according to our fearless leader. They even clarified it in the re-release just in case you were in doubt.

[LOVEBoy]

I'm shocked South Korea hasn't invaded the North yet. If someone sank a US ship and shelled one of our cities we'd be bombing them to the stone age before you could say "strongly condemned".

Given that the US has a bunch of troops and a fleet already deployed to the region, I don't think it would take more than a day or two to topple the North's government.

[arraxylap]

For one thing, the neocons blew all their political capital on Iraq.

[Zvssxstw]

Oh and since Israel is always shelling/bombing Lebanese cities, Lebanon should go all gung-ho and smack Israel around, right? Oh wait.

[BypeVupyide]

If it was that easy who's holding back the US?

South Korea?

[TerriLS]

Rather than openly attacking North Korea, we should demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, and assassination. This is the war of the future.

[Emapymosy]

South Korea?

I'd rather buy "China" as an argument. South Korea does only exist because of US involvment in the region so I doubt they really have the last say what happens....thing is, nobody seems to be willing to go to war over Korea, including the US, because it could come at quite a high price.

[GreesyBeeva]

That was a friendly fire incident. Don't pull a halflotus on me, I'm not interested in conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories?

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State at the time:
I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous Captain Ward Boston, JAGC, US Navy, senior counsel for the Court of Inquiry regarding the incident:
The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. Each evening, after hearing testimony all day, we often spoke our private thoughts concerning what we had seen and heard. I recall Admiral Kidd repeatedly referring to the Israeli forces responsible for the attack as 'murderous bastards.' It was our shared belief, based on the documentary evidence and testimony we received first hand, that the Israeli attack was planned and deliberate, and could not possibly have been an accident. Admiral Tom Moorer:
To suggest that they [the IDF] couldn't identify the ship is ... ridiculous. Anybody who could not identify the Liberty could not tell the difference between the White House and the Washington Monument I wasn't aware that a Secretary of State, a JAG Captain who was involved in the investigation, and a US Navy Admiral are conspiracy loons.

You're a real patriot, HC. A real patriot. 34 American sailors and Marines...

[freeringtonesioo]

So in an alternate universe your example would be relevant? Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

What the hell are you talking about?

I'm pointing out the hypocrisy in HC's position that a country that gets shelled by a neighbor should go in and take them out by noting how Israel has repeatedly shelled Lebanon and invaded Lebanon but the Lebanese government has been powerless to stop them, to say nothing of being unable to invade Israel in response.

[Yinekol]

Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

No. It wouldn't make sense for South Korea to devote resources to try to annex/democratize/modernize the North. It would be like the US annexing Mexico. Why would we want an impoverished and backwards addition to our country? North Korea would just drag South Korea down if they were to take it over.

Security is the only real concern for South Korea. I don't imagine South Koreans are gung-ho about unification.

[leijggeds]

No. It wouldn't make sense for South Korea to devote resources to try to annex/democratize/modernize the North. It would be like the US annexing Mexico. Why would we want an impoverished and backwards addition to our country? North Korea would just drag South Korea down if they were to take it over.

Security is the only real concern for South Korea. I don't imagine South Koreans are gung-ho about unification.

Like those Germans maybe...

[BliliBoopsy]

Well the Lebanese Army is nearly non-existent so it's a moot point but let's get real. We know full well if Lebanon invaded Israel, HC would be flipping out and going rah rah Israel when Israel smacks Lebanon into the stone age.

No one gives a **** about Lebanon and this thread has nothing to do with Israel.

[Cucoulkrory]

The economy of GDR didn't suck as much as DPRK's does.

Yep. Still I'd say stuff like ideas of national identity/unity or so often reach beyond pure economic considerations.

[Signabeademia]

No. It wouldn't make sense for South Korea to devote resources to try to annex/democratize/modernize the North. It would be like the US annexing Mexico. Why would we want an impoverished and backwards addition to our country?

If true, why did the North invade the South after the South declared independence in 1861?

[Turbo-ip]

What? Cotton and tobacco aren't valuable?

Not compared to the North's wealth.