Navies of 2 Koreas exchange fire - Thoughts?

[SavageEagle]

Navies of 2 Koreas exchange fire


Navies of 2 Koreas exchange fire - Yahoo! News

SEOUL, South Korea – The two Koreas briefly exchanged naval fire Tuesday along their disputed western sea border, with a North Korean ship suffering heavy damage before retreating, South Korean military officials said.


There were no South Korean casualties, the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, and it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties on the North Korean side.


The North's patrol boat crossed the disputed western sea border Tuesday morning, drawing warning shots from a South Korean navy vessel, the statement said. The North Korean boat then opened fire and the South's ship returned fire before the North's vessel sailed back toward its waters, the statement said.


The North Korean ship was seriously damaged in the skirmish while the South Korean ship was unscathed, a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

More at the source. Luckily the North hasn't fired their batteries yet...

 

[rambone]

Worrisome to say the least. So much trouble around the world.

 

[VUPDblue]

AGNTSA. Not at this thread, but at NK and SK...

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

NK has a history of "saber rattling" any time an important discussion is about to take place .

Not sure what they hope to achieve by this but I'm bettin one day they're gonna get more of a response than they wanted .

 

[ihateiraq]

NK has a history of "saber rattling" any time an important discussion is about to take place .

Not sure what they hope to achieve by this but I'm bettin one day they're gonna get more of a response than they wanted .

Which in turn could lead to more of a response than anyone wants. That place is a powder keg. The Korean and Pakistani situations are the most dangerous in the world in my opinion.

 

[SavageEagle]

I was up for a couple hours last night when the story broke and I was glued to the news wondering why NK hadn't blown their load on Seoul and the DMZ yet.... Thank God their ship limped back in disgrace and they're just bickering over it now.

 

[ihateiraq]

maybe i should take all my winter gear off ebay.

 

[mskendall]

It seems that when NK seems like they are coming around and wanting to talk or deal with a situation, they follow it up with something absurd. I guess they get away with it every time and gain more leverage.

 

[waloidian]

whats new. maybe its their terrible navigation equipment, or some hungry sailors looking to poach some fish in SK waters, but they cross demarcation lines all the time. They have fired upon and killed a number of SK sailors over the years, and SK has returned the favor as well. a sea battle with NK wouldnt last very long as SK has quite a beefy Navy and warships. NK is all about self preservation, they ratchet up tensions time after time before negotiations. they wont attack SK unless their leadership and its rusty military is ready for suicide.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

I was up for a couple hours last night when the story broke and I was glued to the news wondering why NK hadn't blown their load on Seoul and the DMZ yet.... Thank God their ship limped back in disgrace and they're just bickering over it now.

Kim Jong Ill is a psychopath but he is an intelligent one, he knows he will lose so he puts on a show of force to make the countries give into him(think Hitler but with less military). If we or any other really industrialized/militarized country decided to his country would be a glass parking lot.

 

[SavageEagle]

Kim Jong Ill is a psychopath but he is an intelligent one, he knows he will lose so he puts on a show of force to make the countries give into him(think Hitler but with less military). If we or any other really industrialized/militarized country decided to his country would be a glass parking lot.

First, it's not NK's military ONLY that we will be fighting. If the North has strong enough ties to Countries who really don't like us, we may have to worry about them. Not only that, other Countries with a beef would see a good opportunity to strike at their enemies.

Also, NK knows that if we start to win that they have a nuke or two they can use against us. Or another Country. Either way, they win. Unless we disable their nukes. I would suggest EMP weapons, but that would be too logical for the "leadership" in D.C. to consider.

One last thing. North Korea is more jungle than desert. Hard to turn dirt into glass...

 

[waloidian]

If NK provoked war on the peninsula, they could not count on any former and current communist bloc country to support them. even in the last year, china has backed off from blindly supporting NK and accepted UN resolutions that punish NK. chinas best interest would not be served by getting involved in a military conflict with the US, SK or Japan. there have been a number of public and rumored private rifts between china and nk, so I wouldn’t count on any other country providing unwavering support. also i dont think we are too worried about chavez, ahmadinejad or any other nut getting involved in a war thousands of miles away. Not sure what you consider a jungle, but a majority of the north is mountainous forests with very similar climate to central Indiana.

 

[SavageEagle]

If NK provoked war on the peninsula, they could not count on any former and current communist bloc country to support them. even in the last year, china has backed off from blindly supporting NK and accepted UN resolutions that punish NK. chinas best interest would not be served by getting involved in a military conflict with the US, SK or Japan. there have been a number of public and rumored private rifts between china and nk, so I wouldn’t count on any other country providing unwavering support. also i dont think we are too worried about chavez, ahmadinejad or any other nut getting involved in a war thousands of miles away. Not sure what you consider a jungle, but a majority of the north is mountainous forests with very similar climate to central Indiana.

You count out Russia? Don't forget where they get a lot of their arms and technology from. Sure, the Chinese supply a lot for them and I agree, it's not in their best interests to go to war with us. That's why they support the UN resolutions. But don't forget they are still closely tied and would still side with them while trying to appear "neutral". No, Russia would be our concern. They've been pretty quiet towards us since their "challenge" toward obama with the missile defense network. Other than their saber rattling in their satellite Countries, I think they're waiting for the right time to test out some of their new toys and I think NK would be their playground. They did supply planes and pilots in the Korean war according to my grandfather. I wish he'd talk more about it, but I understand, kinda, why he won't. I've never pressed him.

 

[firstrock]

I spent 3 years 12 miles south of the DMZ and this is nothing new! In fact, it's hardly newsworthy IMHO.

Get worried when NK starts sending submersibles and SF troops south again!! I was there when it happened last time and everything designed to bring war and death was pointing/moving north in one mad rush on the DMZ!! Now that is a show of force!!

Other "worrisome" things that happened while I was there:

* Local SK farmers inside the DMZ snatched and taken across the MDL (Military Demarcation Line)
* 2 submersible's found on the coast- Large manhunt ensued
* Japanese civilians kidnapped off the coast of Japan
* 4 Naval skirmishes such as noted above (usually a show of force or NK Navy protecting NK fishing fleet while in SK waters)
* Numerous provocative acts while on foot patrols inside the DMZ

I have some older NK propaganda that was put inside a balloon in NK, floated up and over SK, then burst at a certain altitude thus distributing the "information" to the SK populace. If I can find it tonight I will post some of the propaganda.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Don't mess with the ROKs...

 

[waloidian]

savage, i thought about Russia, and i can only see them getting involved in one scenario...a preemptive strike by the USFK. Any provocation that sparks a conflict by the North gives little justification for Russia to start what would likely be a prelude to WWIII. i agree though, it would be bad news to have the russians and or chinese drawn into a conflict...something Im sure deters the glass parking lot advocates.

firstrock, you know first hand what true tensions are like on the peninsula, my brother was there for a much shorter stint (US forces have a much smaller presence at the DMZ now) and my father for 1 year. ive visited the DMZ before, and it's like no place on earth. erie place with all the propaganda loudspeakers, Hollywood size mountain signs, fake "buildings" on the NK side to give the false impression of good living, visible SK farmers in the DMZ and on the NK side, armed outposts every mile or so, cameras all over the place etc...makes you appreciate the freedoms and security we have here.