S Korea navy ship sinking in waters near N Korea

[WatchManUSA]

Is N. Korea provoking S. Korea?

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's military scrambled naval vessels to the western waters near the disputed maritime border with North Korea late Friday after an explosion ripped a hole in the bottom of a military ship, officials and news reports said.

The ship — reported to have 104 crew on board — began sinking off the coast of South Korean-controlled Baengnyeong Island close to North Korea around 10:45 p.m. (1345 GMT, 9:45 a.m. EDT), an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

He said the exact cause was not immediately clear. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported an explosion in the rear of the 1,200-ton ship, but the official said he could not confirm the report.

Minutes later, Yonhap reported that another South Korean ship fired shots toward an unidentified target in the direction of North Korea. The Joint Chiefs official said he could not confirm the shooting but said the military was strengthening its vigilance in the area.

The incident comes amid heightened tension between the two Koreas, which remain in a state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of security-related ministers, Yonhap said, citing presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.

Six naval ships and two coast guard vessels were rushed to the waters to rescue the crew of 104 on board the sinking ship, Yonhap said. More than 50 had been saved so far, the report said.

[jaybet]

Fox news just said that North Korea may have attacked the ship with a torpedo. Here we go again.

[fightingquaker13]

Same game. They get desperate, threaten to throw a war unless they get aid and then back down. They've been pulling this crap since the '90s. What makes it dangerous is that they have very little to lose by actually going to war since they are afraid of their own people, so they need to be taken seriously.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

Same game. They desperate, threaten to throw a war unless they get id and then back down. They've been pulling this crap since the '90s. What makes it dangerous is that they have very little to lose by actually going to war since they are afraid of their own people, so they need to be taken seriously.
FQ13

Remember the Pueblo ?
North Korea creates these incidents for internal use. They use them to distract the population from the crappy standard of living.

[fightingquaker13]

Remember the Pueblo ?
North Korea creates these incidents for internal use. They use them to distract the population from the crappy standard of living.

Back in the "50s it was different game. The Sovs could have told them no. Now? They barely even listen to the Chinese, and ignore them altoghther on nukes
FQ13.

[Sponsor]

[TAB]

Fox news just said that North Korea may have attacked the ship with a torpedo. Here we go again.

I really doubt that, now a N korean ship/sub colliding with a S korean ship I would beleave.

[tt11758]

I really doubt that, now a N korean ship/sub colliding with a S korean ship I would beleave.

What would make you doubt it?  Don't you think Kim Jung Il is capable of that kind of mischief?

[TAB]

If he wanted to start "shit"  there are alot better ways to do it then firing a torpedo at a ship.   


Lets forget about that for a second.  Any navel captin worth cost of his insignea, would know right away if he had been struck by a torpedo.   They would have made it very well know to the chain of command and would have returned fire.

[tombogan03884]

TAB, they just had a freaking naval battle a couple months ago .

[fightingquaker13]

The NKs scare me. They are like Saddam. He could have called off W's little war anytime he wanted to by simply laing his cards on the table and letting the UN inspectors have free run of the place with no preconditions, harrassament or games. The Ukraine, South Africa and Libiya (on or about September 12th) did the same. No weapons, no war, and he would still have been in power, not pulling a Mussolini. Yet he didn't, because he was more afraid of his own people than us. He thought he needed the threat of chem weapons to keep the kurds and the shiites in line. He thought we would go away, a fatal error (on both our parts). The NKs are in the same position. Its like driving with a rattlesnake in the car. Yeah, we can kick their ass, but at what cost? We're willing to live and let live, but they don't seem to get the message.
FQ13