S.Korean/N. Korean Navies Exchange Gunfire

Originally posted by apacheman
This sort of thing happens all the time, been happening as long as I can remember.

Roger that.

Originally posted by apacheman
It would take the North about an hour to get there, and last I checked, not much could stop them.

There is very little likelihood that any consequential (if at all) mechanized or dismounted infantry elements from the North would be able to reach Seoul (sappers not withstanding). The PKS Highway route is one of THE MOST heavily defended areas on the planet. Trust me, half a century plus of planning and preparation by US-ROK forces have made that invasion scheme essentially a deadly funnel; a 21st century meat grinder. Even with brute force North Korea will never make it to Seoul. However this is not to say Seoul itself and the surrounding area will not go to hell in a hurry. Civilian loss and infrastructure damage would be heavy and a large humanitarian crisis would develop, at least initially. But there will be no occupation... the same cannot be guaranteed for Pyongyang and the rest of North Korea.

Originally posted by CanadianDream420
South Korea probably playing games in uninvited water......
NK would never strike 1st otherwise.

I do not see how you arrived at this conclusion. South Korea's military is definitely more professional and better equipped than the North's. Barring a catastrophe, there is no way any South Korean vessels would knowingly and willingly take such action for such purpose. North Korea's situation is inherently more unstable and unpredictable. As such, we can speculate about the reason or cause, but not about where the guilt lies. Warning shots are SOP, and self defense is universal.

[edit on 10-11-2009 by WestPoint23]

South and North Korea clash at sea

Navy ships from South and North Korea exchanged fire Tuesday along their disputed western sea border, South Korean military officers said.

A South Korean warship shot at a North Korean navy ship that crossed the disputed western sea border, and the North's ship shot back, said an officer with Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Another officer said there were no South Korean casualties, though it was unclear whether there were any on the North Korean side. He said the North Korean ship was seriously damaged and turned back toward northern waters after the brief skirmish.

www.cbc.ca...

[edit on 10-11-2009 by ZombieSlayer]

Originally posted by HotSauce
Those two need to just throw it down, fight it out, and get it settled once and for all. My money is on the South. I would say they could take the North in about a week or two.

You would be right, but that is in the long run. NK would cause considerable damage to the south. I wouldnt be bothered about the peoples support for the government, because they would have to fight anyways.

looks like obama got his first 3AM call. lets hope cooler heads prevail.

Pretty sure the NK ship meant to start skirmish as lil kim hasnt been in papers lately and big cheif visiting region soon.Next kim will be releasing statements threatning armageddon for concessions.

sorry.double post.

[edit on 10-11-2009 by AgentX09]

Not the first and will not be the last.

Navy exchanges have occurred, back in late 2002. Shots are routinely fired across the border. Nothing significant.

in 1999 the CIA estimated that NK had over 12,000 artilery tubes (and launchers) , 60% of which are deployed within 60km of the DMZ

also the CIA estimated NK special forces at excess of 25 deployable brigades - all trained extenisvely for fighting in the region.

whilst they know they dont have the technology - they sure have the numbers - around 8000 guns and rockets raining down on seoul - you wouldn`t need a nuke.

they have been preparing for this since the 1950`s.

people underestimate NK because they do not have advanced technology.... but they hgave such huge manpower and a lot they dio have the world do not know about, it is as simple as that.

Well if it was the United States who received any gunfire, you can be sure we would have an all-out war. This nation has never let any good spat go to waste... too much profit, misery, debt, and depopulation to just let it pass by.

Originally posted by CanadianDream420
South Korea probably playing games in uninvited water......
NK would never strike 1st otherwise.

you seem to give a lot of benefit to north korea...

I mean, i can see how, given all their empty, non provoked, threats in the past few years

what kind of vessel are involved in the exchange gunfire?

doesn't one side have the ability to destroy and sink the other vessel?

It is highly unlikely the South provoked this. The North regularly does things to ratchet up tensions in order to try to gain advantage in negotiations. They are slated to begin direct negotiations with the Obama administration on a range of issues, so this was 99 percent for sure done on purpose.

Nothing new.

Nothing alarming.

reply to post by Harlequin


Hypothetically, in the most common scenario, a little thinking outside the box is required. Although DPRK posture is one of almost constant alert and movement, they cannot fully mask an assault. Consider then 1000-2000 preemptive sorties and 500-1000 surface launched cruise missiles as well as non kinetic systems targeting DPRK leadership, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, infrastructure, and depots. Following this initial 24 hour onslaught there would be thousands of organic and self sustained tactical airborne assets backing up three-quarters of a million troops with state of the art armored vehicles and tanks at the DMZ. North Korea's military is deaf, dumb, and blind (greatly reduced operational capacity & effectiveness), the West's ISR assets would not be permanently taken out. An around the clock strategic and tactical bombing campaign would slowly eat away their morale and mobile units. Hard to predict the final endgame situation other than to say North Korea will not prevail or stay unchanged.

The inclusion of a successful nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare campaign would not change the above scenario; merely prolong it. The loss of life it could incur thought is worth mentioning, and probably not worth losing.

[edit on 10-11-2009 by WestPoint23]

I hope this doesn't turn into anything major. Like some have already stated, the North has thousands of heavy artillery pieces pointed directly at Seoul, it's estimated at around 5000. And they've had a good long while to zero them in. The entire city could be leveled in minutes. Here's another interesting article that estimates it at even more, about 8000 pieces, 700,000 troops, and 2000 tanks. It could get very messy, very quickly.

Originally posted by 222938
The entire city could be leveled in minutes.

I don't think you're fully appreciating how difficult it will be to "level" such a developed area covering hundreds of square miles. Even in the best of circumstances.

reply to post by WestPoint23


This is true, and I don't really know what kind of firepower the north has, just what the internet tells me. All of their systems could be completely defunct and non-operational. But it would still be a very bad event in any case. Do you think it would be possible to defend the city from bombardment at all?

reply to post by CanadianDream420


According to what I read, it is the other way around...

No South Koreans were killed in the skirmish, which began when a North Korean patrol boat entered disputed waters claimed by South Korea and ended when it retreated after being damaged by the South Korean boat, according to Korean news agency Yonhap. The sea beyond the "northern limit line," a border set by the U.N. but never acknowledged by North Korea, was the site of clashes between the two countries' navies in 1999 and 2002.

As i stated on page 1 yesterday, this is a non-event. Nothing is coming from this except a few complaints. No need to push the panic button and speculate folks. Not worth the time or wasted energy.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
Interesting development. Kim will be able to have a little fit on television this week.

But let's not be fooled. NK does have about 10 thousand artillery positions pointed directly at Seoul.

I read a report once which said they could get about 600 thousand casualties in just a few hours.

All it would take is one Nuke to ruin the Souths whole day.
Little Kimmy will get on his soap box and figure out a way to blame the US.