N. Korea Crisis - Updated as News come to hand

South Korean troops fired back 13 minutes later, causing unknown damage. Members of Lee's own party and opposition lawmakers accused the military of responding too slowly.

13 minutes...

Now... let's do some math.

North Korea can fire about 4400 artillery rounds PER MINUTE at Seoul.... X13 minutes... Yeah that's only 57200 artillery rounds at Seoul... NO BIG DEAL right? Every minute counts.

North Korea is not to be taken lightly.

Anybody know what DEFCON the US is at currently by the way?

US/SK forces in Korea are at DEFCON 2.... DEFCON 1 is WAR.

US forces around the world are probably at DEFCON 3...


EDIT : OMG... Those nutjobs at NATO just decided to ENTER PAKISTAN.
Pentagon Report: Pakistan Army Agrees to NATO Military Presence in Quetta

Yeah that won't piss China too uh?

reply to post by Vitchilo


A recent studied concluded that North Korea, non interrupted, could level Seoul within three days via artillery shelling.

reply to post by minkey53


Currently DEFCON is at 3 and has been for ages.

It seems things are heating up and coming together for a potential second flash-point between the Koreas in the next few days. However i still think these drills will probably come and pass with nothing but harsh rhetoric.

One thing is for certain, if something does kick off during the drills i don't think either side will hold back this time. Both NK and SK have put themselves in award positions by stating they will respond harshly. Each is backed into a corner, fingers on triggers.

Just an interesting aside, but somewhat germane to this whole North/South Korean pissing match . . .

On November 26, 1950, China officially became a participant in the Korean War by launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the US and UN.

Just your useless nugget of wisdom for the day . . . and now back to your regularly scheduled bickering.

reply to post by GoalPoster

On November 26, 1950, China officially became a participant in the Korean War by launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the US and UN.

Actually it was November 25, 1950. Maybe the offensive lasted 2 days... but yeah. That's what I was pointing out about 60 pages before.

Originally posted by observer
reply to post by Regensturm

 

What on earth do they mean by this? Do they consider the military exercises a "unilateral military act"? Or are they saying that they would oppose the use of force if NK provokes the forces in the area.
If they mean the latter then this is what I would expect from China. If they mean the former, then this may get very bumpy, very fast.

It's been mentioned these military exercises were planned beforehand, so I would presume China knew they were going to happen.

The problem is, these exercises have been brought forward.

Optimistically, China are just warning against any military exercises at this time without their approval, and because it will increase tensions.

Pessimistically, China thinks South Korea and/or the US are about to go to war with North Korea and are warning them not to do it.

In which case, if China feels it's warning is not being heeded, it may make a more direct and clear statement.


More information on the North Korean artillery firing that occured in North Korea:

N Korea stages artillery drill, warns of war

From the Link:

N Korea stages artillery drill, warns of war

By Stephen McDonell and wires

Updated 1 hour 44 minutes ago

North Korea has staged an artillery firing drill in the Yellow Sea and warned that US-South Korean naval exercises planned for the weekend will bring the peninsula closer to war.

Tensions are running high after the North's bombardment of Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday killed four people, injured 18 and set buildings and forests ablaze.

The sound of fresh rounds of artillery emanating from North Korea led to fears of a fresh attack and sent South Koreans who remain on the island running to air raid shelters.

The South Korean government, however, said this seemed to be a training exercise and that no shells landed on its territory.

A defence ministry spokesman said explosions were heard several times and that about 20 shells had apparently landed on the North's side near the disputed border in the Yellow Sea.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd has told Channel Ten there does not appear to be cause for alarm at this stage.

"It appears to be live firing within North Korea - practice rounds - but that's just what we've deduced so far," he said.

"Everyone should just take a deep breath and we'll get all the facts sorted out. But it seems to be live firing within North Korea, not across."

Earlier today, North Korea warned that this weekend's planned war games by the South and the United States would push the region towards war.

More

Supposedly SK fired back at NK about 80 shells in response to NK being a Muppet recently?

Does anybody know if they actually hit anything or took out the guns that fired at them etc.?

Don't want to read through over 90 pages in case this has already been asked / answered, sorry!

Well this ain't encouraging AT ALL...

North Koreans leave Russia's Far East to protect homeland

North Korean citizens working in Russia's Far East rushed home after the recent military skirmish between North and South Korea, Russian popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets said on Friday.

Oh boy... Now ... were they called by Kim Jong Il? If so, he may be planning an offensive...

Or did they come back because they are brainwashed slaves?

I'll leave you with this quote from Mao just before China's involvement in the Korean war...

``The atomic bomb is nothing to be afraid of. China has millions of people. It cannot be bombed out of existence. If someone else can drop an atomic bomb, I can too. The death of 10 or 20 million people is nothing to be afraid of...``

Sweet dreams!

reply to post by Vitchilo


Not a great sign but i think's highly unlikely NK actually told their citizens to come back.

"As soon as the message about rising tensions between both countries appeared, North Koreans took it as an unspoken call to stand up and protect their dictator Kim Jong-il," Moskovsky Komsomolets cited Russian news agency VladNews as saying.

If anything, it just shows the insane, almost admirable in a weird way, loyalty they have to their Country once they got word of tensions rising.

Bit more on the new defence minister. This guy sounds a bit tougher IMO, being an ex-soldier and general.

South Korea has named its former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff as the new defence minister amid growing criticism of the government's response to a deadly attack by North Korea. General Kim Kwan-jin, a 61-year-old career soldier, is replacing Kim Tae-young who resigned on Thursday two days after the attack on the small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong left four people, including two marines, dead.

Link
Wiki

Pictures just in from Xinhua News:


South Korean naval vessels sail near the Yeonpyeong Island Nov. 26, 2010, after South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) exchanged artillery fires in waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula on Nov. 23. (Xinhua/Park Jin Hee):



Link



South Korean naval soldiers stand guard on the Yeonpyeong Island Nov. 26, 2010, after South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) exchanged artillery fires in waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula on Nov. 23. (Xinhua/Park Jin Hee):



Link


South Korean marines corps patrol on the Yeonpyeong Island, Gyeonggi province of South Korea on Nov. 26, 2010. The South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) exchanged artillery fire Tuesday in waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, leaving four people dead. (Xinhua/Park Jin Hee):




Link


A South Korean bolstering of forces.


Meanwhile, The Philippines Armed Forces make preparations for the possibility of the evacuation of citizens from South Korea:

Armed Forces ready for possible repatriation of Filipinos in South Korea

Probably just a precaution.

Unless they know something we don't, in which case it's time to buckle our seat belts.

reply to post by jonny2410


Once they get there, they're gonna be a hungry bunch of patriotic soldiers.



S. Korea to tighten even the most humanitarian aid to N. Korea: official S. Korea to tighten even the most humanitarian aid to N. Korea: official

The attack on Tuesday left two marines and two civilians dead on the western South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. South Korea has since suspended Red Cross shipments of remaining flood aid to North Korea and other scheduled civilian assistance for malnourished children and disadvantaged groups in the impoverished North

The article about the chinese general and sinking the USS Washington is even worse than I thought...

From someone who speaks chinese...

"This is not the first time Western Imperialists haVE driven their warships towards to the coast of China in the past 100 years. It's now the time for Chinese people to revenge against this sort of unacceptable posturing. Don't be afraid of Full Blown Nuclear War, if it was indeed to be happened. China will take US together to the stone age) ---- This is very serious, I can confirmed this general is one of head military leaders of PLA.

Another latest news confirmed Chinese Army has already stepped next the border of North Korea, As soon as the war starts, Military 39 of PLA will sooner march in Seoul . Chinese Nuclear Missiles have already targeted at Seoul and American military bases in Japan. Another groups of ICBM Missiles in Southwest China have already targeted at Guam and Nara F-22 base......---------I can confirm it's all real. because it comes from the mainstream media of Chinese Press

So basically this guy IS A REAL PLA GENERAL RIGHT NOW.

And he's saying basically that DON'T BE AFRAID OF WAR WE WILL CONQUER ALL OF KOREA AND HIT JAPAN... and no problem with it...

THIS IS INSANE.

This could very well be the start of WW3 if this general gets his way with the chinese leadership.

S. Korea sent propaganda leaflets to N. Korea after artillery attack

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea sent 400,000 anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets over the border after North Korea shelled an island in the West Sea, a government source said Friday. The source, who declined to be identified, said the leaflets were sent across the border on Tuesday night after the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday afternoon that killed two South Korean marines and two civilians.

Link

Korea war games: Barack Obama to the White House Situation Room, please…

Will North Korea respond again? The likelihood, on past form, is not. But while we often assume that the North knows “the limits of the game”, in the current political environment, with the inexperienced Kim Jong-un trying to prove he’s a worthy successor to his father, Kim Jong-il, it is possible the rules of the game have changed considerably.

Daily Telegraph

reply to post by jonny2410


This is going to make me sound like an absolute simpleton . . . . but how'd they deliver them?

What surprises me, if in fact the report is valid, is that the NOrth Koreans didn't have an absolute pissy-pants hissy fit over the fact that somebody or something from South Korea crossed into their land/airspace/general vicinity to drop off the love letters.

That alone makes me want to throw the BS flag on the initial report.

Originally posted by GoalPoster
reply to post by jonny2410

 

This is going to make me sound like an absolute simpleton . . . . but how'd they deliver them?

What surprises me, if in fact the report is valid, is that the NOrth Koreans didn't have an absolute pissy-pants hissy fit over the fact that somebody or something from South Korea crossed into their land/airspace/general vicinity to drop off the love letters.

That alone makes me want to throw the BS flag on the initial report.

I was thinking along the same lines on that one. you can tell, the report is like 2 sentences long in the link haha.

reply to post by Vitchilo


Fighting China will not be WW3. Not remotely close to anything resembling a world war.

They simply do not have the logistics or ability to project power.

Instead a war with China would remain a Asia-Pacific conflict, with most actual fighting concentrated on the Korean peninsula and possibly Taiwan.

The PLA would very quickly overextend themselves without a modern logistics network. Just to defend North Korea and take Taiwan would exhaust them. Sure they have millions of troops, but millions of troops need food, water, medicine, ammo, and fuel. They cannot sustain momentum.

On the other hand the US, Japan, Australia, and others would be able to maintain a high op tempo. Momentum would not halt. We could carry out air sorties non-stop wiping out every power plant, major bridge, factory, military base, dam, port, and support major insurgencies in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

Sure the PRC could beg Russia to get involved, but I can't imagine Putin doing anything else than trying to sustain the PLA logistically. Putin would probably love to see the PRC and the US destroy each other.

If they actually decided to use the nuclear option, which is improbable, they would not be able to absorb or defend against the US response. That would simply be the end of China, with tens of millions of refugees fleeing into India and Russia in the aftermath.

Due to the US being primarily a service based economy and the actual ability to defend against a ballistic missile threat, we could handle the loss of quite a few cities while concentrating on defense of the Northeastern Corridor, the heart of our finances, military and government.

People have no idea what we are prepared to handle or do in the aftermath of such events, but we have been preparing for such an event since the Cold War started. We have system upon redundant system, a continuity of operations and government on a scale that cannot be fathomed by the average person. It is leviathan in scope.

This whole nonsense can be resolved peacefully and quickly if South Korea officially admit there was some mistake that happened when they were performing joint exercise with the US navy close to the border. Some unwanted artillery landed in the North Korean territory and it was a mistake. Denying this initial mistake is the key to the escalation of the tension.

In the US media, these claims of the North Korea are not even mentioned. It is totally misleading and provocative.

It is like, all right, the Crazies started it all again.

Note that this incidence happened right after the announcement of the new nuclear enrichment facilities built in North Korea by the MSM. I don't know how they found that out, not to mention when and why report it now. And how reliable is the source?

Nothing is reported by coincidence.

These coordinated efforts to demonize North Korea and start a war is too obvious to miss.

I wonder if this is coincidence?

India to deploy 36,000 extra troops on China border. Nov.24/2010
www.nation.com.pk...

India test-fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile. Nov.25/2010
www.businessweek.com...

Somehow I don't think China will get involved in Korea. I am wondering if Obamas trip to India was to get support to deter China in the event the Korean crisis escalates.