Shots Fired Between Korean Maritime Boundaries

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Over sixty years ago a war began between the two Korea's.  A cease-fire may have been signed in July of 1953, but the tension remains, and occasionally shots are fired.  The possibility of open warfare on the Korean Peninsula always seems to be but a few angry words away from reality.

A torpedo attack by a North Korean vessel, sinking the South Korean ship, Cheonan, in 2010, leaving 40 dead, and six missing, reminded us how real the danger of war escalating out of control between the Koreas could be.  A few days ago, on the fourth anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan, North Korea marked the day by repeating their claim that they had nothing to do with the sinking of the South Korean vessel, and that Seoul should lift related sanctions. The communist leadership to the north also asserted that South Korea was “beating the worn-out drum of escalating confrontation” with the issue and was hindering the improvement of bilateral ties.

The statement came a couple hours after North Korea launched two mid-range ballistic missiles into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.

The sanctions by the south four years ago included nearly cutting off the entire flow of South Korean money into the North with a ban of all North Korean ships from entering Sough Korean waters.  The ban nearly halted all trade between the two Koreas.  South Korea, at that time, also disallowed new South Korean investments in the North, and barred South Korean citizens’ entry into the North.

The actions taken by South Korea has severely crippled the already cash-strapped communist regime to the north, who has attempted to make up the shortfall by working more with their Chinese ally, but China has no need for the goods from North Korea the nation used to trade to the south.  

Now, North Korea and South Korea have volleyed again, but this time by firing hundreds of artillery shells into each other's waters, forcing an evacuation of residents on five front-line South Korean islands to shelters.

The exchange of fire was at the Yellow Sea, after North Korea's announcement of live-fire drills in seven areas near the maritime boundary.

North Korea fired 500 rounds of artillery shells over more than three hours, with about 100 of them falling south of the sea boundary.  South Korea responded by firing 300 shells into North Korean waters.  All of the shots landed in water.  None of them struck land or military targets.

Though the exchange was mild, it reminds us that the war is still in place, and animosity between the two halves of the Korean peninsula remains.  We must remember that the testing of a new kind of nuclear device has been touted by the north, as well.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

North Korea Displays Defiance on Cheonan Anniversary - Wall Street Journal

Koreas Trade Fire, Island Residents in Shelters - Associated Press