N. Korea Crisis - Updated as News come to hand

I think North Korea will still do a nuclear test on April 15 and this whole charade will continue.

S.Korea to Bolster Security in Yellow Sea

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security reported its tasks for next year to the president on Monday, including plans to bolster security amid heightened inter-Korean tension.

Among the policy goals laid out by the ministry are plans to further tighten national security following North Korea’s shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island late last month.

The ministry says it will spend more than 80 billion won to increase security on five Yellow Sea islands near the maritime border with North Korea. The budget will go to revamping evacuation facilities, restoring buildings damaged by the North Korean attack, and helping to stabilize the lives of island residents.

Hopefully this is true :

Details and conditions yet known, but apparently Richardson pulls off a nuclear deal of some sort in NKorea, providing a reprieve. 5 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

South Korea might be deploying F-15K and F-16Ks :

Damn I wish I could read Korean. KBS just cut from drama to breaking news. Only thing I can read is F-15s and KF-16s. 4 minutes ago via web

Originally posted by Vitchilo
Looks like it could very well be DOOM OVER!

1. CNN: #DPRK tells Richardson it agrees to ship fuel rods out of the country. #Koreas 6 minutes ago via TweetDeck

+1

That was reported on CNN an hour ago....

Don't know if anyone saw this amid the concerns over the SK live fire drill? It seems the plot has thickened? It appears some Chinese fishermen, ahem (Spies?) were detained by SK coast guard units after what they say was a collision of some kind.

South Korea detains Chinese fishermen

South Korea has detained eight Chinese fishermen after their boat collided with a patrol ship in an incident that threatens to damage relations with China at a time when the US is pushing Beijing to broker a detente on the Korean peninsula.

This is not going to be a good thing for anyone involved in this mess. The Chinese are going to be reluctant to step in any further in the fray to diffuse this imminent disaster. Furthermore, these so called fishermen could be spies? The official statement from the SK Coast Guard sounds suspicious? Not so much for the SK, but for the Chinese.

South Korea detains Chinese fishermen

According to the South Korean coastguard, the Chinese fishing boat capsized after ramming a patrol vessel in South Korean waters on Saturday.

The coastguard detained eight fishermen, but said one died after being rescued from the water and another was missing. On Sunday, six South Korean coastguard ships and two helicopters searched for the missing Chinese fisherman, to no avail.

Now, it says the ship capsized? Now, a Chinese vessel is in hotly contested waters, and near a region on the brink of war. Furthermore, we have to keep in mind the Chinese relationship with North Korea during this crisis. During this time of escalation, would it not be in China's best interests to issue warnings for civilian or military vessels to stay out of the area until this thing subsides?

Why were those fisherman there in the first place? Perhaps they were fishing for intelligence, and at the sight of a coast guard patrol, they scuttled the ship with all evidence of their true intent going down with the ship? Therefore, the SK coast guard gave the cover story of the ship capsizing, rather than ship sinking for other reasons as to not sour their relations with the Chinese at this crucial time.

reply to post by Jakes51


Yeah posted that earlier.

# martyn_williams RT @W7VOA: #ROK defense ministry tells VOA just now artillery drill still on for some time today less than a minute ago via TweetDeck

# Martyn Williams martyn_williams RT @chicoharlan: Evidently #DPRK also agreed to ship out 12,000 fuel rods. Enough to produce 5-6 nuclear weapons. 1 minute ago via TweetDeck

Who wants to bet the drill is delayed ``due to fog`` to tomorrow?

The ticker banner at the bottom of BBC24 live feed is saying they are about to begin the exercise:

www.bbc.co.uk...

Me thinks they will delay it real soon...

It's almost 2 PM and the moon rise at 4.11PM...

And the drill is supposed to last around 2 hours.

30 minutes and they delay the drill.

N. Korea agrees to return of UN nuclear inspectors: CNN | The Jakarta Globe

N korea is backing down

STAND DOWN

Originally posted by Vitchilo

Who wants to bet the drill is delayed ``due to fog`` to tomorrow?

That's what I am beginning to lean toward. They are trying save face, for the peoples sake, and act like they aren't going to be bullied by the north and at the same time probably hoping for some kind of positive intervention to diffuse tensions but we will soon see either way.

I already said N. korea is not going to do anything right now because everyone is expecting it.....

S. Korea probally wont even do the drills... Or atleast wait it out until they can have talks..

N. korea would not agree to talks about the nuclear program if they were not backing down.

TomLasseter RT @betterthansteve: KBS News ticker reports ROK fighters prepped for hostilities. 2 minutes ago via TweetDeck

KBS reports: Japan supports ROK's YP-Do artillery fire exercise. 3 minutes ago via web

Yep. The fog is an excuse for diplomacy. I bet most people in Korea know that. No military in the freaking world delay drills because of weather unless there's a hurricane.

I miss the colors of this world, can anyone tell where I am at.

www.youtube.com...

FLASH: S.Korea military officer says to begin soon live-fire drill from Yeonpyeong island

Well it looks like it could begin any minute now according to Reuters???

It seems they gonna do it today...

AP: Farmers living near western edge of DMZ moved out of their homes until after artillery drill. #Koreas 3 minutes ago via TweetDeck

Seems like this is going to happen after all. I think NK agreeing to the concessions regarding fuel rods and the inspector access are a way for them to come out of this saying "we tried to negotiate but SK wouldn't do the same".

Thats just imo of course.

Reuters staffer on Yeonpyeong says artillery firing heard on the island. #Koreas
1 minute ago via TweetDeck

And so it begins!

# ROK Defense Ministry, speaking to VOA just now, says it'll not confirm exercise until it concludes. #Koreas half a minute ago via TweetDeck

# Reuters staffer on Yeonpyeong says artillery firing heard on the island. #Koreas 1 minute ago via TweetDeck

reply to post by Vitchilo


Yes, it appears it has begun. Now we have to keep our eyes peeled for any North Korean retaliation. Personally, I don't think they will do anything.

twitter.com...

Reuters staffer on Yeonpyeong says artillery firing heard on the island

Seems like it has begun

My first post in this thread..
here's hoping for no retaliation from NK

Maybe drill id going on now,

RT @W7VOA: Reuters staffer on Yeonpyeong says artillery firing heard on the island. #Koreas half a minute ago via TweetDeck

ROK Defense Ministry, speaking to VOA just now, says it'll not confirm exercise until it concludes. #Koreas
3 minutes ago via Seesmic for Android .RT

@W7VOA: Reuters staffer on Yeonpyeong says artillery firing heard on the island. #Koreas

So it begins