North Korea Declares State of War.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Quite a possible strategy from the north. I think this is a key time to watch, a lot of tension right now!

RT - N. Korean 'subs out for operations, artillery doubled,' talks with South resume

In the meantime, the Yonhap news agency reported that six South Korean fighter jets have returned home ahead of schedule from the Red Flag Alaska military drills. The F-16s were initially planned to fly back later this week.

S. Korea's order to evacuate certain areas now affects over 15k civilians.

a reply to: Xcathdra

All out war imminent? I want your honest opinion!

a reply to: rhynouk


The Guns of August come to mind...

originally posted by: Wookiep
a reply to: Xcathdra

All out war imminent? I want your honest opinion!

If no agreement is reached and the North attacks the loud speakers yes - absolutely. The south already stated several times they would target the units firing on the loud speakers in addition to supporting units / command units in the same areas. I doubt the North will let that go without a reaction.


Any war is going to be bloody and costly however I have to wonder.. How long do you let a child run things? How long do you acquiesce before drawing a line and stating no more.

I think S. korea might be at that point.

Yes - if the negotiations break down and N. Korea fires on the speakers the war will resume. The culture and its views on apologies doesn't help.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Thanks for the up front and honest answer. I think your opinion here matters a lot, which is why I asked you the question. Watching this unfold, I tend to agree with you.

Looks like the S. Korean President was invited to Beijing with lil kimmy opting not to go. They noted its unusual because its china. The other issue they raised, which I forgot about, is N. Korea is set for another nuclear test in October.

North Korea approves ‘final attack’ on South Korea as tensions increase in region

One thing I don't understand in all of this, and Admittedly, I've only skimmed is, people keep referring back to the 'landmine incident'. I assume a SK soldier got injured or killed by a land mine. If this is so, I have to ask, what was that soldier doing attempting to cross the border at a non-designated crossing point? To cross a border at a non-designated crossing point, to me, seems like a hostile incursion itself.

North Korea is not the only nation to protect its borders with land mines, and surely as a sovereign nation, they are entitled to protect its borders against hostile incursions?

The fact that SK's only response to one of their soldiers being killed is a propaganda broadcast, to me, seems odd in itself. As if they know its their own fault, but need to be seen to be doing something, to shift the blame...

So, what exactly is this 'landmine incident'?

a reply to: BMorris

2 south Korean soldiers were on a routine patrol when one stepped on the landmine. 1 soldier lost both legs and I believe the other lost one leg.

the soldiers were on the S. Korean side when the incident occurred = the DMZ was infiltrated by North Korea and the landmine placed on the patrol route.

Is there anyone here who can confirm U.S. troop/naval/air movements in the area? I think, if we cam confirm this as well as SK troop movements, we might actually have a legit situation on our hands.

originally posted by: Wookiep
Is there anyone here who can confirm U.S. troop/naval/air movements in the area? I think, if we cam confirm this as well as SK troop movements, we might actually have a legit situation on our hands.

That would be the other odd issue - Why would Un go down this road when S. Korea and the US are smack dab in the middle of their annual war games. Going back to the "I am invincible Un mentality".

I've seen reports stating US forces in some of the areas have been redeployed / taking their positions. The US and S. Korean air force have been doing air ops near the DMZ. Enhanced security is the term they are using but it does not describe what the enhancements are.

Keep an eye on japan to see if any US forces there are redeployed.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: BMorris

2 south Korean soldiers were on a routine patrol when one stepped on the landmine. 1 soldier lost both legs and I believe the other lost one leg.

the soldiers were on the S. Korean side when the incident occurred = the DMZ was infiltrated by North Korea and the landmine placed on the patrol route.

NK has not admitted it as yet. The way the West is is could have been a US connived false flag. The crazies in SK could also have enacted it as a false flag.

Seems a bit far fetched to me to just assume it was NK crossing one of the heaviest monitored places on this entire planet where SK and the US monitor with night vision aided by some of the most sophisticated stuff available.

We are instead supposed to believe that Un donned his undies on the outside like a super hero and planted the mines himself.

Come on guys! Just a little thought to look at the options on who to blame.

One minute NK forces are a joke to many and the next minute they are pulling off the stuff of legends.

You can't have it both ways.

P

a reply to: pheonix358

Which incidentally is the whole reason I never clicked on this thread until today. Your post being the only post I read and probably summed up this entire thread. I'll pass.

a reply to: pheonix358

well considering N. Korea has been observed plating landmines along parts of the DMZ for the last few months your sarcasm is a bit misguided.

The order came from Un in an effort to prevent soldiers from crossing into the south, which has seen an uptick since Un has become trigger happy with his government officials. North Korea has done the same on their border with china.

a reply to: Xcathdra

UN shoot fireballs from his ass when he's angry. He hasn't done that yet. I think we're ok.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Once again you have uncanny insights into NK high command.

Placing Landmines on their side of the DMZ is a very different thing to placing them where SK soldiers will step on then.

That should be near on impossible. You have them crossing no mans land, digging holes, planting mines, making good the surface ... all without being seen.

I remain very skeptical.

ETA. Seems like a very good way to keep the citizens in South Korea in a high state of nervousness which seems to be in all of the Western Government's playbooks.

P

originally posted by: Wookiep
a reply to: Xcathdra

All out war imminent? I want your honest opinion!

All-out war is always a possibility when it comes to NK. All it would take is one loony soldier on the North side to do something stupid and the whole thing goes nuts.

The fact that the two sides are meeting is a good sign, it means that NK is looking for a way to back down without losing face. How they can do that is anyones guess.

This intention was made clear last week when the NK military spokesman ended a fierce statement by suggesting that SK might have "made a mistake" in launching a retaliation against the North. This was NK's way of saying "you just say you made a mistake and started this, and we'll pretend to be the bigger man".

Of course, the South is not going to do that, and why should they? The North attacked them, and they retaliated. They should not be rewriting what happened just so little fat Kim can back out of the crisis he created.

Ultimately NK doesn't want a war, it knows it would be destroyed within days if it even tried. The problem is we don't know how unstable Kim is, or how much control he has over his generals, many of whom have a crazy belief that the South belongs to them and they should take it by force.

In addition to that, NK is an increasing threat to all, and there will come a time when we have to deal with it. The US and SK might be meeting with China to get assurances that they will either stay out of any conflict or support the effort to take down Kim once and for all.

China liked the relationship with NK, but the country has become far more of a problem than a friend in recent years. China has repeatedly declined to back them up, giving the impression that it's turning away from Kim. NK has become more of a liability for China, and it seems the only reason China is concerned about the stability of the country is due to the risk of refugees should anything happen. If the US and SK could reassure China that there is an adequate plan to stop millions of people from fleeing from NK to China when they attack then China would probably do its bit to help, or at least stay entirely out of it while we all clean up the mess.

Incidentally, anyone else find it interesting that the Japanese government just this summer rewrote their constitution to allow their military to be involved in combat?

SK and Japan are the ones with the highest stake in taking down NK. Perhaps Japan has been laying the ground work for that to be able to happen?

S. Korea slams North over submarine, artillery deployments

Seoul (AFP) - North Korea has mobilised dozens of submarines and doubled its artillery units along the border, South Korea said Sunday, accusing Pyongyang of undermining top-level talks aimed at averting a military confrontation.

A defense ministry spokesman said 70 percent of the North's total submarine fleet -- or around 50 vessels -- had left their bases and disappeared from Seoul's military radar.

The movement of such a large number of submarines was "unprecedented," the spokesman said, adding that Seoul and Washington were beefing up their military surveillance in response.

"The number is nearly 10 times the normal level... we take the situation very seriously," he said.

The North has also doubled the number of artillery units along the heavily-fortified land border with the South, he added.

The move came as top officials from both Koreas resumed a talks aimed at easing military tensions after a marathon negotiating session the night before ended without final agreement.

"The North is adopting a two-faced stance with the talks going on," said the spokesman.

Yonhap news agency, citing military officials, said the submarine deployment was the largest since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Click link yadda yadda yadda...



The Latest on Koreas: S. Korea reports North army movements

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The latest on the tensions on the Korean Peninsula (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

Even as North and South Korea resumed talks Sunday, South Korea's military is reporting that it detected unusual troop and submarine movements in North Korea that indicated Pyongyang was strengthening its capacity for a possible strike.

An official from Seoul's Defense Ministry, who didn't want to be named because of office rules, says about 70 percent of the North's 77 submarines had left their bases and were undetectable by the South Korean military as of Saturday. The official said he couldn't immediately confirm whether the North's submarine activity was one of its strongest since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The official also says the North had doubled the strength of its front-line artillery forces since the start of the high-level talks early Saturday evening.

"It seems that the North is pursuing dialogue on one side and preparing for battle on another side," he said.

— Tong-hyung Kim, Seoul

a reply to: Xcathdra

I'm pretty sure I also read that South Korea recalled some of its aircraft from drills in Alaska. I still don't think anything is going to come of all this, but this buildup of forces is unsettling.

originally posted by: EternalSolace
a reply to: Xcathdra

I'm pretty sure I also read that South Korea recalled some of its aircraft from drills in Alaska. I still don't think anything is going to come of all this, but this buildup of forces is unsettling.

S. Korea wants North Korea to take responsibility in the mine incident - They wont.
N. Korea wants South Korea to stop broadcasts across the border - They wont.


Whats left?