According to South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak’s office, the nation’s military will see a major revision of its rule of engagement when dealing with North Korea in the future, with troops being ordered to be far more aggressive in the future.
“The rules of engagement we have now can be rather passive as they are focused on preventing an escalation,” noted Lee’s aide Hong Sang-pyo. The new rules have not been released but it seems the Lee government is less concerned averse to escalation going forward.
Beyond this, the South Korean military is going to “drastically” reinforce the number of troops deployed to a number of the islands along the disputed maritime border with North Korea. The two nations clashed along the border earlier in the week during South Korean wargames, leading to the North Korean bombardment of a military base on one of the islands.
North Korea insists the South Korea fired first in the clash, and has warned a further clashes if South Korean ships continue to violate what it believes are its waters. The US has deployed an aircraft carrier to the region and pledge to aid South Korea in whatever military actions it wants to take.
What's so special about those islands? A look at a map says it all: they flank North Korea's Yellow Sea coast.