Carantoc said...
I am not supporting North Korea, but I would like to point out that ths US and South Korea were playing major mock land and sea war exercises immediately before (and after) the North fired missiles.
And your point is? Earlier this year, months before the US and South Korea were involved in Naval exercises in the yellow sea, a North Korean sub sank a South Korean general purpose vessel killing all sailors on board.
"A North Korean submarine's torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship on 26 March causing the deaths of 46 sailors, an international report has found."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/10129703How far should we go back. We could back track the politics for the present tension between the 'West' and North Korea to at least World War II.
The following Summary is stolen from:
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/24/3075047.htm"The latest round of Korean hostilities represents a continuation of a long-running conflict that has simmered since the start of the Cold War.
The withdrawal of Japanese forces at the end of World War II, after an occupation of 40 years, left the Korean peninsula divided into two zones occupied by allies-turned-adversaries - the United States and the Soviet Union.
The 38th parallel, originally an administrative border designated by US forces, increasingly became a political divide, with the establishment of a communist government in the north.
After several years of escalating skirmishes, in June 1950 North Korean forces launched an invasion, signalling the first open conflict of the Cold War.
With the aid of US and UN forces, including Australian soldiers, the South Koreans drove the Northern army back past the 38th parallel and almost to the Chinese border.
The intervention of Chinese forces and Soviet assistance saw Southern forces again pushed back beyond the 38th parallel, before the threat of nuclear escalation forced a stand-off.
The war would become a template for Cold War conflict, with the US and Soviet forces choosing sides in the internal struggles of countries and avoiding outright conflict between themselves.
While the armistice in 1953 established a demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, there has never been a formal peace treaty between them.
Relations on the peninsula have waxed and waned over the past 50 years, with the South pressing for a peaceful unification and the North skilfully playing its nuclear capabilities to prop up its failing economy.
With the end of the Cold War and the rise of China, the Korean peninsula has shifted to reflect the current dynamics in the North Asia region.
For China, a divided Korea represents a valuable buffer between its borders and US forces, who have a large presence in and around Seoul.
The withdrawal of US forces will be crucial in any reunification deal but would represent a major strategic shift in US policy in the region.
For Japan and South Korea, a strong US presence in the region remains vital in balancing the rising regional power of China.
This regional balancing act is hampered by the unpredictable nature of the North Korean regime, which, after years of famine and isolation, is adept at using the threat of war to wrangle aid and resources out of its regional adversaries."
