. 24/7 Space News .
NUKEWARS
S.Korea boosts defences as North warns of more strikes

by Staff Writers
Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea (AFP) Nov 25, 2010
South Korea said Thursday it would send more troops and guns to frontline islands, as North Korea warned it could follow up this week's deadly shelling with more attacks.

Pyongyang's fresh warning came as a US aircraft carrier headed for the tense peninsula to join war games to be staged as a show of force to the nuclear-armed communist state.

The North's unprecedented artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday killed two marines and two civilians, injured 18 more people and turned homes into charred ruins.

It claimed its first political victim when the South's Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young resigned, following growing criticism that Seoul's military and government reacted too softly to the assault.

The government said Thursday it would revise its rules of engagement, allowing troops to hit back harder if necessary.

Tuesday's attack was the first time the North had shelled a civilian area since the 1950-53 war.

It provoked the worst crisis on the peninsula in years, with the international community agonising over how to respond. South Korea and the United States, among others, pressed China to rein in its neighbour.

The North accused the United States and its "warmongering South Korean puppets" of provoking the attack. It said South Korea's military in an exercise fired shells within what the North claims as its own waters.

The regime said that if the South commits "another reckless military provocation, our army will carry out second and third rounds of powerful physical retaliatory strikes without hesitation".

On the island hit by the North's fiery hail of rockets and missiles, grim-faced soldiers trudged through broken glass, debris and the blackened wreckage of homes.

Authorities were evacuating most of the remaining residents. Hundreds of terrified islanders fled soon after the surprise bombardment.

Stung by criticism from newspapers crying for revenge, the South said the current "rather passive" rules of engagement would be completely revised.

The military will reinforce ground forces, especially on five border islands, and set different levels of counter-attack "depending on whether attacks are targeted against civilians or the military", the presidential office said.

The South's military said it believed it had inflicted serious damage on the North in the incident, Yonhap news agency reported.

"As we responded with 80 shells from K-9 howitzers in a pinpointed attack, North Korea is expected to have suffered severe damage," Yonhap quoted Lieutenant Colonel Ju Jong-Wha as saying.

Marines based on Yeonpyeong also defended themselves from criticism that they had responded with too little, too late after the surprise attack.

World powers are struggling to draw up a response to the latest actions by a regime that has in recent years staged two nuclear tests and fired long-range missiles.

It is also accused of sinking a South Korean warship in March with the loss of 46 lives, a charge it denies.

Many observers believe the attack was meant to highlight the military credentials of heir apparent Kim Jong-Un, youngest son of leader Kim Jong-Il.

A senior Seoul government official, speaking to foreign reporters on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday's attack must have been ordered by leader Kim in person.

The official said that in order to forestall a war or an additional provocation "it's crucial for us to reinforce our military readiness and send a very serious message to North Korea -- so that they can make a correct judgment in the future."

Seoul, he said without elaborating, "will not hesitate to use all kinds of measures" following any future attack.

Seoul also wants to review its current agreement to consult the US-led United Nations Command before using South Korean aircraft in combat.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with ally South Korea, where 28,500 American troops are stationed.

But in the tense standoff, the United States and its allies face few appealing choices, analysts say -- resuming talks, which could be seen as rewarding aggression; easing the tone and risking further provocation; or toughening its position at the risk of sparking a full-blown war.

"This is the land of lousy options... You can choose between bad, worse and the worst," former diplomat Victor Cha told a group of fellow analysts.

China has refrained from strongly criticising its ally over the attack.

Instead, its foreign ministry expressed "concern" over plans for the joint US-South Korean naval exercises, saying: "We oppose any act that undermines peace and stability on the peninsula."

burs-jhw-fz/sm/pdw/slb



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


NUKEWARS
War with N.Korea poses nightmare scenarios
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2010
A full-blown war on the Korean peninsula offers up a nightmare scenario that would cause appalling casualties and potentially trigger a nuclear exchange, experts and former officials say. The crisis provoked by North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island this week makes the prospect of an all-out conflict look less remote, and US officials - mindful of the high-stakes - have ca ... read more







NUKEWARS
Neptec Wins Canadian Space Agency Contract To Develop A New Generation Of Lunar Rovers

Mission to far side of moon proposed

Mining On The Moon Is A Not-So-Distant Possibility

A Softer Landing on the Moon

NUKEWARS
Earth bacteria could survive on Mars

Opportunity Checks out Intrepid Crater

Shallow Groundwater Reservoirs May Have Been Common On Mars

Russia To Launch Unmanned Lander To Martian Moon In October 2011

NUKEWARS
Fewer Risks If Space Science Missions Managed By One Agency

China lags in scientific literacy

Should We Stay Or Should We Go

Courting India In Space

NUKEWARS
New York wants space shuttle for museum

NASA postpones Discovery launch to mid-December

NASA argues for extra 2011 shuttle mission

Discovery launch 'no earlier than' Dec 3

NUKEWARS
Crews approved for space station mission

New ISS Crew Begins Pre-Flight Exams

Soyuz crew land safely on earth from ISS

Exp 25 Crew Prepares For Departure

NUKEWARS
Ariane rocket puts telecom satellites into orbit

FAA issues private spacecraft permit

45th Space Wing Launches NRO Satellite

Ball Aerospace STPSat-2 Satellite Launches Aboard STP-S26 Mission

NUKEWARS
500th 'extrasolar' planet discovered

Planet From Another Galaxy Discovered

First glimpse of a planet from another galaxy

Eartly Dust Tails Point To Alien Worlds

NUKEWARS
Savory Sea Salt Sensor To Get Cooked And Chilled

Glory Team Overcomes Engineering Obstacles

Radar guns might spot suicide bombers

Russia To Spend 2 Bln Dollars For Space Clean-Up


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement