Both North and South Korea appear to be moving eagerly toward a potential resumption of a shooting war tonight, as both sides ratchet up their readiness ahead of a planned “live-fire” drill on the southern Island of Yeonpyeong.
South Korea has promised to move ahead with the drill at some point in the next few hours, which is exactly the same as a previous drill which ended with both sides trading artillery fire along the disputed maritime border. North Korea has promised an even harsher reaction.
South Korean civilians, principally on Yeonbyeong but also on some other nearby islands, have been ordered to move into air raid bunkers in anticipation of the drill and what many believe will be the onset of war. It is unclear what, if any, measures are being taken among North Korea’s civilian populace in anticipation.
The clash and the inevitable casualties seems to be one both sides are extremely comfortable with, as South Korea has faced pro-war rallies in its capital, and responded with a drill that could only be seen as a provocation, while North Korea’s rhetoric in response to the new “drill” seems to be designed solely to ensure that the South couldn’t possibly back off it.