Breaking: North Korea torpedoed South Korea's Navy ship

[thewiseguy]

(Reuters) - South Korea's military believes a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine sank its navy ship last month, based on intelligence gathered jointly with the United States, a news report said on Thursday.

The Yonhap news agency report appears to be the clearest sign yet that Seoul blames Pyongyang for the sinking, thought to have killed 46 sailors in what would be one of the deadliest incidents between the rivals since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The military's intelligence arm sent the report of "certain" North Korean involvement to the presidential Blue House soon after the incident, Yonhap quoted a high-ranking military source as saying.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63L08W20100422

This is very bad.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Yeah that is an act of war...

as transparent as they get

[JCMach1]

24. The war never ended--- thiere is only a CEASE FIRE

[rurallib]

2. times like this I am glad the cool headed Obama is in charge

not the doofus frat boy with small penis problems.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Absolutely. nt

[tnlefty]

7. *snort*

:thumbsup:

[Captain Hilts]

3. NOT good. nt

[flvegan]

4. If true, that's not good.

Not at all.

[apocalypsehow]

6. A clear-cut Act of War. We should expect more trouble from that quarter, unfortunately.

:thumbsdown:

[Captain Hilts]

33. There seems to be uncertainty within the leadership. Kim's been in bad health, etc. nt

[Odin2005]

8. OH. SHIT. This is NOT good AT ALL!!!

:scared:

[Grand Taurean]

9. If confirmed, this is considered by all standards and act of war.

This is bad.

[LakeSamish706]

10. No, it's not bad cause there never has been a truce in the Korean war anyway,

that I am aware of. More of the same, just a matter of when/if South Korea/US will strike back.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Yep but it could be the END of the truce

So we go from a cold war to a hot one.

[IDemo]

12. "Analysts said there is little South Korea can do even if Pyongyang is found to be the culprit,"

because a military response was likely to hurt its own quickly recovering economy and bolster North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's standing at home.

[Prometheus Bound]

14. That's the part I noticed too.

[customerserviceguy]

17. OK, if South Korea can't do squat

then North Korea can do anything it wants, anytime it wants.

I don't believe that's how the South Koreans will roll here. I expect something decisive to result from this, otherwise SK becomes NK's permanent bitch.

[nebenaube]

18. not necessarily... n/t

[Posteritatis]

26. A military response will hurt more than Seoul's economy. (nt)

[MilesColtrane]

30. Not to mention the destruction of Seoul and most of the people in it.

Actually starting a full scale war would be nearly suicide for both sides which you would think would prevent it from happening.

But, North Koreas leaders aren't exactly playing with a full deck.

[xchrom]

13. Recommend

[jberryhill]

15. Has Any South Korean Official Put His Name On This Claim? /nt

[Lasher]

16. South Korea will be chomping at the bit to retaliate.

If this is true there's no way Seoul is going to let this go unpunished.

[Historic NY]

19. I think old Kim would be chest beating and posturing if this was true.

[Diclotican]

20. thewiseguy

thewiseguy

I had the suspecting about this, from the start.. That the South Korean war ship, was sunk by North... Not because I eager for a war - I don't. But more because North Korea have, for the last decade or so pushing the limit for war they could do, to South Korea, and the rest of the world in general.. The Nuclear bomb who North Korea have been using twice in test is maybe the most known thing that they have been doing the last decade.. But ever now and then the north have provoked the south, and tryed their best to provoke the south to do something stupid - like sailing into disputed sea areas, and to make a fool of them self.. And now and then, the South have been on the outside been looking as a paper tiger, who cant control their own territory by the north.. Who have been probing and provoking the South, not just by military means, but also by talking big, and to play a bigger role than the country really have... And as more and more of the power struggle between the groups in North intensifies, it Will be more and more important for the regime itself, to play it tuff, and to provoke the other parties.. And specially the South, who they officially still are on war footing with... And since 1953 have the North more or less been in a war footing with the south even tho it have never been started, because no one want or have the resources to go to war... North Korea is playing a ugly game, where the options for the South is rather limited.. They can hit back, hard and risk a war with the north.. Soul, the capital in south is in the down fall from more than 5000 artillery canons, and could risk much damage if North was to use them.. And it Will be hell on earth, if North was to use their force to try to make a military show down with the South... As it never have been a peace treaty between N and S just a truse....

On the other hand, if North was to open provoke a war with the South, it would backfire because this time the support from China and Russia would be limited, to non... Either Russia or China want a war on the Korean pencilvania, and specially China, who have been the North Koreans "best friend" since Mao got into power in 1949, been rather irritated, and in public said so also. Who was breach from what China officially do when it came to the North.. Usually they are telling NK it behind closed doors, not in the open.. In 1950-1953 China var pouring a million solider into the North, to try to help the North to win the war.. In 2010 or later I doubt that China want to put a million soldier in the harms way, even if it was to help the North survive a war they more than possible Will be starting...

If this is true, and I have no doubt that it is true, this is a act of war, in a area who have never ended the war officially.. It is still war between NK og SK, and a war today would harm both, maybe mostly North..And more possible also be the end of the North Korean regime when it Will fail.. And then South Korea, and China and Russia have to help the former North Korea on a stage not seen since 1945 when the western part of germany was given a lot of help, to keep things togheter... And in North, the case is far worse than most believe, as the country is more or less one big prison camp where civilians are treated in means, i doubt that even the chinese emperors of the middle ages treated their subjects.. It is a horrible regime... Far worse than anything else we might have had to encounter the last 150 year or so (and then I also put into this bag, the regimes of Stalins USSR, og Nazi-Germany en al)

Either way, this is an acceleration on the enmity between the South and the North, that is dangerous.. South can't let it slip, and have to answer in kind.. But can't do it directly as it would be taken in the North as an act of war... And for the moment the South doesn't gave the right tool to fight of hundred of thousands of north koreans going true the border... And most of the americans is rather busy fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan for the moment.. (thank you mr Bush:evilfrown: )

Diclotican

[daleo]

21. Remember the Alamo

But don't forget the Gulf of Tonkien either.

[Obamanaut]

23. Remember the unarmed EC121 that was shot down in the late 1960s. nt

[thewiseguy]

22. This is so bizarre

Reuters is quoting Yonhap and yet the South Korean's are silent about this. No rejection or confirmation for that matter.

I do not see the news on Yonhap nor do I see them mentioning it!

How freaking odd is this. :wtf:

[johnroshan]

25. Same ol.. same ol.

I for one, don't think this would trigger any war.

NK has nuclear weapons and its a well known fact that their leader is bat-shit insane. He wouldn't hesitate to unleash nuclear weapons if push comes to shove. This alone would prevent the any country in its vicinity to do anything about it except talk and "strongly condemn" their actions.

We can just hope for the lunatic in power to die and someone sane to take control of the government in NK.

[Old and In the Way]

28. I think SK does have more to lose than NK does.

Why would SK risk their big pile against NK's puny little pile?

On the other hand, I could see a very well planned surgical counterstrike, at a time of their choosing, to basically decapitate the power structures of NK simultaneously...then begin an immediate campaign of reconciliation that frees NK people from their government imposed captivity. May not be a war at all and it could be in the best interests of all of the Korean people to have a reunification sooner rather than let this bizarre regime continue to be a destabilizing influence in the region.

[Posteritatis]

31. Such a strike would be impossible

If the US couldn't decapitate what was left of Iraq in the first few days of the current war, South Korea sure as hell isn't going to do anything similar to a much larger, much more entrenched, much more heavily armed leadership that is in a position to immediately raze Seoul. It ain't gonna happen without a resumption of full-scale warfare.

[jberryhill]

37. It wouldn't be SK calling that shot...

Under the current structure, in the event of war, command of SK military reverts to the US.

[Posteritatis]

38. It'd be just as impossible for the US to do successfully. (nt)

[jberryhill]

40. I didn't mean "doing it", I meant "ordering it" - or, more importantly, not ordering it /nt

[MilesColtrane]

32. North Korea has, by some estimates, over 10,000 fortified artillery placements...

within striking distance of Seoul.

If South Korea tried to bomb the DPRK it would rain down shells on the city, resulting in perhaps a million dead civilians.

[Posteritatis]

27. Is there any corroboration on this beyond "a news report says?" (nt)

[jberryhill]

35. No, and that is a very good question

Unless and until someone with a name and a title says this, then it is vapor.

[proteus_lives]

29. This could be very bad.

[malaise]

34. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

South Korea's military believes?????

[jberryhill]

36. Someone said that somebody thought they heard....

Yeah.

And when that happens, we can go up the chain on the other side to who did what on whose authority.

[JuniperLea]

39. Wars and rumors of wars...

Great.