Report: South Korea deploys more long-range artillery on border island

[maddezmom]

Source: CNN

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea has reportedly deployed more long-range artillery and rocket launchers on Yeonpyeong Island, a border island struck by a North Korean shelling last week, according to military officials.

The officials' remarks were reported Monday by the Yonhap news agency in Seoul.

The report comes as joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States continue in the Yellow Sea and tensions with North Korea continue to brew.

On Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said South Korea will "firmly" respond to future provocations from North Korea and declared that his nation "cannot remain patient" in the face of continued hostility from Pyongyang.

"Fellow citizens, at this point, actions are more important than words," Lee said in a televised address. "Please have trust in the government and the military and support us."



Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/koreas.crisis/index.html?iref=NS1

[Red1]

1. I thought it was the other way around

Words more important than actions?

Or is the s(&*t getting ready to really hit the fan?

[soryang]

2. That's why you have a navy

So you can concentrate your land forces on a tiny island so they can be more readily destroyed.

[ProgressiveMajority]

3. South Korea needs to stop provoking North Korea

This is yet another example of South Korea pushing the situation towards the brink of war.

[Xithras]

4. North Korea needs to stop shooting at South Korea.

No matter what provocation South Korea may have (or have not) engaged in within it's own land and territorial waters, there is no justification for North Korea to shell civilian structures.

[ProgressiveMajority]

5. Civilians shouldn't live on disputed Islands

Their presence there is a provocation, they should be removed. I'd much rather remove all the S.Koreans from disputed areas than have a full scale war.

[Xithras]

6. What a silly statement.

Neville Chamerlain would be proud. "If we just give the enemy what he wants, there will be no reason for war!" Nevermind the fact that the island has been occupied by those people since long before any war came through. You're talking about their homes.

International Law states that warring states must protect civilians from harm, even if they're caught in a warzone. There is no "They shouldn't have been there" exception. What North Korea did, shelling a civilian town, is a war crime. Nobody, especially a person with a "progressive" handle on a liberal messageboard, should even be trying to defend that.

North Korea has some legitimate gripes, but it's actions were indefensible.