North Korea Warns South Over Live-Fire Artillery Drill
With Tensions Already High, Will Drill Spark Another Clash?
With the two sides still on the brink of an open shooting war, North Korea is once again warning the South after South Korean officials announced their intention to conduct another live fire artillery drill.
It was during a similar live fire drill last month that the two sides ended up trading artillery fire, including a deadly shelling of a military base on Yeonpyeong Island. Things still haven’t quieted down from that clash, and it seems the new artillery fire may precipitate another.
South Korean officials mocked the suggestion that the North would respond to the new drill, which is also being conducted on Yeonpyeong, but North Korean officials claimed to be better prepared this time, sparking panic in the financial markets.
Both South and North Korea insist the other side fired first in last month’s deadly clash, and both seem to be preparing to blame the other if the next drill ends in a similar clash. It seems at the moment, however, there is little interest on either side for actually avoiding such clashes.
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Randal
December 18th, 2010 at 4:58 am
"It seems at the moment, however, there is little interest on either side for actually avoiding such clashes"
Apart from the interest in not risking getting their countries destroyed, of course.
This is a classic case where there is a clear danger of uncontrolled escalation. Both sides are evidently in belligerent mood, both have invested face in declaring that they will retaliate and there is regime instability in the North and political pressure in the south. North Korea faces a "use it or lose it" situation with regard to its military forces, in the face of dramatically superior US air power and technological sophistication.
I'm sure, as they survey their devastated nation afterwards, the South Koreans will be so glad that their government didn't "appease" the North. They'll have avoided having US neocons insult them, after all.
Randal
December 18th, 2010 at 4:59 am
If there is such an escalation, the likely result (assuming a direct confrontation between the US and China can be avoided) is the destruction of North Korea and the devastation of the economy of the South and catastrophic humanitarian losses throughout the Korean peninsula. The US regime will regard that as a victory and a price well worth paying, since the compliant western press and media will put the blame on the North, conveniently forgetting the completely unnecessary provocation of holding live fire exercises at a particularly sensitive time and in a particularly sensitive location.
It could turn out to be just the kind of war the US regime loves – an inconvenient regime destroyed, at little or no cost to the US regime itself, all the costs being paid by people the US elite care little or nothing for – foreigners and ordinary US voters and taxpayers. Perfect.
Johnny_Warbucks
December 18th, 2010 at 10:13 am
Them two act like two bickering siblings.
andy
December 18th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Lets just get out of Korea…