Korea

[Kathianne]

It's heating up again:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11815637/North-Korean-troops-ordered-onto-war-footing-by-Kim-Jong-un-live.html


US troops mobilise in South Korea as Kim Jong-un declares 'quasi-state of war': live


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http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/08/21/kim-jong-un-south-korea/




North Korea Official: Kim Jong Un Approves ‘Final Attack Operation’ On South Korea


August 21, 2015 10:48 AM

PYONGYANG, North Korea (CBS News/CBSDC/AP) — A North Korean military official said on Friday that senior party and defense officials led by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Thursday night and “reviewed and approved the final attack operation.”


The move came after Thursday saw the most serious confrontation between the rivals in years. The official gave no details about what kind of military retaliation North Korea would see as appropriate for South Korea’s shelling of its territory on Thursday.


However, Kim Yong Chol, director of the general reconnaissance bureau of the North Korean army, denied Friday that North Korea had fired across the Demilitarized Zone and said South Korea had not offered conclusive evidence of where a rocket would have come from. He suggested South Korea may have made a human error in its assessment of events and that its decision to retaliate was dangerous and rash.

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[NightTrain]

The nutty little bastard is going to end up starting a war.

And not one of his Generals or advisers will say anything about his warped thinking in the planning stages, otherwise they'll get brutally killed along with their families like he's already done.

He's an iron fisted little tyrant, and it's too much to hope for a coup to 86 him.

I guess after the war starts we'll have to try and get him with a bunker buster.

[Black Diamond]

I have a question. If the Korean War never ended, how is kim declaring "quasi state of war"?

[fj1200]

The nutty little bastard is going to end up starting a war.

And not one of his Generals or advisers will say anything about his warped thinking in the planning stages, otherwise they'll get brutally killed along with their families like he's already done.

He's an iron fisted little tyrant, and it's too much to hope for a coup to 86 him.

I guess after the war starts we'll have to try and get him with a bunker buster.

I can't imagine we don't have a plan to go in and get him if it gets too serious.

[Kathianne]

I can't imagine we don't have a plan to go in and get him if it gets too serious.

A plan that would be executed? I don't think so. Blame wouldn't be on the Pentagon. Do you really think this State Department, this administration would move? That they've increased the troops over there and begun to up the rhetoric is as good as it'll get until a crisis already has occurred.

[fj1200]

A plan that would be executed? I don't think so. Blame wouldn't be on the Pentagon. Do you really think this State Department, this administration would move? That they've increased the troops over there and begun to up the rhetoric is as good as it'll get until a crisis already has occurred.

We have to hope he's not a complete fool. I'm just thinking about SEAL stuff, not massive troop movements.

[Kathianne]

North has 50 or more submarines out of port:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/north-and-south-korea-resume-talks-as-militaries-remain-on-alert-1440314775


Two Koreas Talks Lengthen Into Second Night By ALASTAIR GALE
<time class="timestamp" style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Whitney SSm', sans-serif; display: block; line-height: 2.2rem; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background: 0px 0px;">Updated Aug. 23, 2015 9:56 a.m. ET</time>About 70% of Pyongyang’s submarines are away from their bases, South Korean defense ministry says

SEOUL—Talks between the two Koreas to end a military standoff stretched into a second night (http://www.wsj.com/articles/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-meet-in-effort-to-end-military-standoff-1440226195) with Seoul accusing Pyongyang of trying to increase its leverage by deploying large numbers of submarines and artillery.


South Korea’s defense ministry said around 70% of Pyongyang’s submarines were away from their bases on Sunday in an unusually large deployment. North Korea has also doubled its artillery strength near the border since Friday, a ministry spokesman said.


Force levels are high in South Korea, too, as Seoul and Washington stage their annual summer military drills with around 80,000 troops. On Saturday, South Korea and the U.S. flew fighter jets close to the border in a simulated bombing run.


There was no word of progress in marathon talks between the top advisers of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the border outpost of Panmunjom. After 10 hours of discussions on Saturday, the parties resumed at 3 p.m. local time on Sunday.


While few outsiders expect an outbreak of large-scale fighting, a breakthrough at the talks appears to hang on Pyongyang doing something very rare: acknowledge it is the source of conflict.

...

[Kathianne]

Back to the Truce, for now:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/24/asia/koreas-tensions/


Koreas reach deal, easing military tensions after exchange of fireBy Jethro Mullen (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/jethro-mullen) and K.J. Kwon, CNN


Updated 4:17 AM ET, Tue August 25, 2015

...

Pyongyang expressed regret over the serious injuries suffered by two South Korean soldiers in landmine blasts in the DMZ, and Seoul agreed to switch off the loudspeakers pumping propaganda broadcasts over the border Tuesday, both sides said.

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