Nothing's going to come of this, we can almost guarantee it. The Chinese will keep the North Koreans in line, the North should be well aware that unless they can secure a guarantee of support from China or Russia, they can't possibly win. We'll keep South Korea from getting too brash, i think, though we've stood behind them so far i'd be interested to see in how long we'll let them go before the leash goes taught.

There's too much geopolitics involved in just letting the two countries fight. The regional powers will keep them apart for their own interests.

I would dearly like to see Korea re-unified in my lifetime.

As people have pointed out, China is the most important part of the equation here. Any retaliation which doesn't have tacit Chinese approval could quickly spiral way out of hand.

Personally, I have a hard time understanding why North Korea still means anything to China. All they give China is illegal immigrants and a sense of colonial importance. It shouldn't be too hard to make China an offer that will secure their blessing.

A buffer, and a buffer that is under their influence, no less. A unified ROK would have to act extremely differently than the current ROK acts, because the current ROK being militantly anti-communist would have huge ramifications if they were staring at the Chinese across the Yalu. It's the same reasons they kept them afloat during the Korean war, except that we don't have explosive personalities like Mao to make things interesting, so instead of the human waves and world war, we're going to get a diplomatic runaround.

Russia's the same way, really. They want to keep the DPRK where it is, otherwise they'll have an economically powerful pro-American regime sitting on their boundaries, something that hasn't happened before (the former Soviet satellites pose no real threat, as Georgia showed)

I am so sick and tired of North Korea's audacity. The North Korean government needs to be humbled, and fast. Technically they're still at war with SK, right? Isn't there only a ceasefire between them right now or something?

North Korea really pisses me off. They attack and prod continually and claim they are the victims and say we will blow you to high heaven if you retaliate. War seems inevitable. The constant diplomacy will eventually falter.

They are like that one jerk every one knows who you just want to punch because they are all talk.

i wonder what will china do if NK attacks SK... since they have the biggest army and all...
odds are in favour to NK right now in terms on firepower and manpower...

If NK attacks SK, I'd imagine China will sit it out, close the border with NK, and pray that reconstruction of the destroyed North Korea will take decades to rebuild, ala East Germany.

In fact, it could be in China's favor if there was war. During reconstruction, they could assist SK and become buddy-buddy with them.

As for your remark about odds being in favor with NK....I hope you are joking. Otherwise, thats like saying the PS3 is outselling the Wii. North Korea's ORBAT is NOTHING close to the ROK. They have no modern fighters, their ADA is aging, their artillery is mostly fixed, if fighting went further than the DMZ, they'd lose quickly, their tanks are vintage 1960's, and so on.

Honestly, I see ROK/US/JP killing about 3 DPRK soldiers to every 1 ROK solider...If not higher. Don't forget there are twice as many ROK'ers as there are DPRK'ers, and those still alive up North can barely even survive.

If the DPRK doesn't attack SK, they will crumble if SK keeps up its sanctions. I hope to God that some smart Korean kills, jails, or deposes Kim Jong Il.

One of the common notions around here is that Kim Jong Il is perpetuating a crisis to assist in the handing over his government to one of his heirs. Something to rally his people behind. It raises the question of just when such a transition would take place.

What kind of country asks for a shitstorm?

The First steps have begun.

S. Korea begins retaliation against N. Korea

Last Updated: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 | 7:55 AM ET Comments19Recommend30

The Associated Press

South Korean soldiers stand guard near a loudspeaker used for sounding propaganda near the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea, in Yanggu, north of Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. (Lee Sang-hak/Associated Press)

South Korea has begun its multi-pronged retaliation against North Korea for the sinking of one of its warships by blaring propaganda broadcasts into that country for the first time in six years.

In response, North Korea has ordered its 1.2 million-member military to be ready for war, a South Korean news agency reported, though South Korean officials could not immediately confirm it.

The South's restarting of psychological warfare operations — including radio broadcasts into the North and placing loudspeakers at the border to blast out propaganda — were among measures the government announced Monday to punish Pyongyang for a March 26 torpedo strike that sank the warship Cheonan and killed 46 sailors.

Anti-North Korea activists shout slogans as they burn a North Korean flag and a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a rally near the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)

The South is also slashing trade and denying permission to North Korean cargo ships to pass through South Korean waters.

A team of international investigators concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan. The sinking was the South's worst military disaster since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The North flatly denies involvement and has warned such retaliation would mean war. It has threatened to destroy any propaganda facilities installed at the heavily militarized border.

On Tuesday, the North's military claimed dozens of South Korean navy ships violated the countries' disputed western sea border earlier this month and threatened to take "practical" military measures in response, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea's military had no immediate response other than to say that North Korea routinely makes similar accusations.

North Korea is already subject to various UN-backed sanctions in response to its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The latest steps announced by Seoul over what was are seen as among the strongest it could take short of military action.

U.S., Canada support South Korea

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday stepped up pressure on China to back international action against North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship, calling peace and security on the Korean peninsula "a shared responsibility" between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. (Saul Loeb/Assciated Press)

"Now we need to work together again to address the serious challenge posed by the sinking of the South Korean ship," Clinton said after two days of high-level talks with Chinese officials.

"No one is more concerned about peace and stability in this region as the Chinese," she said. "We know this is a shared responsibility and in the days ahead we will work with the international community and our Chinese colleagues to fashion an effective, appropriate response."

Meanwhile, the U.S. is planning two major military exercises off the Korean peninsula in a display of force intended "to deter future aggression" by North Korea, the White House said. The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea.

Canada has thrown its support behind South Korea. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Monday that Canada will enhance restrictions on trade, investment and other bilateral relations with North Korea, and suspend high-level visits to Canada by North Korean officials.

South Korea also wants to bring North Korea before the UN Security Council over the sinking. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he expects the Security Council to take action against North Korea, but China — North Korea's main ally and a veto-wielding member of the Security Council — has so far done little but urge calm on all sides.

Propaganda campaign

South Korea's military resumed radio broadcasts airing Western music, news and comparisons between the South and North Korean political and economic situations late Monday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The military also planned to launch propaganda leaflets by balloon and other methods Tuesday to inform North Koreans about the ship sinking.

In coming weeks, South Korea also will install dozens of propaganda loudspeakers and towering electronic billboards along the heavily armed land border to send messages enticing communist soldiers to defect to the South. The North warned Monday it would fire at any propaganda facilities installed in the Demilitarized Zone.

On Tuesday, North Korean state media cited the powerful National Defence Commission as saying the North's soldiers and reservists were bracing to launch a "sacred war" against South Korea.

The South Korean Defence Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said they have not obtained any signs suggesting unusual activity by North Korea's military.

On Tuesday, media reports said South Korea has decided to call North Korea its "main enemy" in formal defence documents for the first time in six years.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/25/north-korea-ship-retaliation.html#ixzz0owfeziG9