The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition)U.S.: 'No Justification' for N.Korean Response to S.Korean Exercises

 Will the South actually conduct the “Live-fire drills” or back out, appeasing the North again? Highlights and links to try to understand what IS and Might BE. Diplomats are rushing around trying to prevent escalation. Who will "Blink"?
The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - U.S.: 'No Justification' for N.Korean Response to S.Korean Exercises

  “BabyFace ready to take over?”

“The United States said Friday there would be no justification for North Korea to take military action if South Korea goes ahead with planned artillery exercises in the next few days. Pyongyang is threatening another attack on South Korean territory, more severe than the one it staged after an exercise by its neighbor on Nov. 23.

K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer bunker, damaged in Nov. 23 attack.

However, it (US) is defending the right of South Korea to conduct military exercises within its own territory, and says there is no justification for the threats Pyongyang has made in recent days.

The North does not recognize the Northern Limit Line but the red line above, therefore they cross into the Crab zones with their fishing boats.

Surface to Air missiles.

North Korea, through its official media, is warning that if the South Korean drills go forward, it will hit back harder than it did on Nov. 23, when it answered a live-fire exercise with an attack on a South Korean island that killed four people.

ROK Marines march in memory of slain MARINES.

Vulcan gun.

ROK Marines are the main force on YeonPyeong Island

                             
South Korea's announced plans for another exercise, sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, has triggered worry in Washington and elsewhere, and a round of diplomatic contacts by concerned governments.

“Game of Chicken” is being played out over the next few days…Notice these articles on the North, some very interesting stuff:
What North Koreans think about 3 Generations of Kims

From left, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un

“As the third generation of the Kim dynasty prepares to take over power in North Korea, defectors from the reclusive country say the opinion of North Koreans about the family is getting worse with each passing generation. Many see Kim Il-sung as a father figure who enjoyed widespread respect, but his son Kim Jong-il is seen as a dictator and tyrant and his grandson Kim Jong-un as a nobody without experience.

As for Kim Jong-un, defectors say North Koreans feel neither respect nor fear. They view him as a child. One defector who fled the North early this year and gave his name as Song said, "The regime says Kim Jong-un has inherited the 'revolutionary achievements' and traditions from his grandfather, but the public has no illusions about him." Song added, "People are simply speechless at Kim Jong-il's greed in placing his young son on the throne."
 We watch and wait for what will take place. Who knows, but the Korean War Baby is not worried. Trusting in God.

UPDATE: MONDAY afternoon the SOUTH KOREAN military conducted Live-Fire (Real bullets/shells) Drill and the NORTH Koreans DID NOT, again I say, did NOT fire back. Instead, they played the GAME again so well, saying now that Inspectors could come back into the country (and look at only the places THEY want them to see). Special Envoy Richardson played his part and probably gave them all sorts of promises from President Obama's government. Watch for Six-Party Talks (Just what NK wanted where they will demand goodies and GET THEM from stupid governments) to be scheduled. This gives more 'breathing room' for the North and they WIN AGAIN. Sheesh, would think SOMEBODY would get it. 

Israeli Satellite Images Locate North Korean Rocket Launchers in Positions aimed at South Korean Yeonpyeong island

Well, thanks to Marmot’s Hole Link Here for this update from Israeli Satellite Images. 

The Green line is the Northern Limit Line set by UN and South Korea. The Communist North or DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) does not accept this NLL and numerous clashes have occurred over the years.

The NLL is a Dotted BLUE here and the larger island circled in RED dotted line shows the proximity (12 Km or so) from the RED rectangle of 'satellite image’. This Red Dotted line is what the NORTH considers THEIR lines thus justify crossing over with Crab fishing boats, escorted by North patrol boats.

Israeli Satellite Images Locate North Korean Rocket Launchers in Positions aimed at South Korean Yeonpyeong island

North Korea fired scores of artillery rockets at the South Korean Yeonpyeong island on November 23, 2010, killing two soldiers. Two soldiers and two civilians were killed in the attack, 18 were wounded. (Read our post reporting the incident on the same day)

RED Rectangle ‘Satellite image’.
Click on photos to enlarge







 

The South Korean army returned fire with artillery and scrambled fighter planes to the area. The image above taken by Israel's Eros B satellite, obtained by Defense Update from the satellite operator Imagesat, shows the empty firing positions lined up on the roadside, from where the North fired about 200 rockets.

 

 

  


A standard Russian-made 122mm BM-21 rocket battery comprises six vehicles, each carrying 40 ready to fire rockets in launch tubes.



Close up of EMPTY firing BERMS, Scorch marks show that
only Three vehicles fired before Counter-Fire caused them
to "Bug out" and relocate.



This satellite image (above) clearly shows the 'smoking gun' - scorch marks trailing each of the four positions, the fifth shows faint scorch marks, while the sixth (at the bottom) does not have such marks at all, indicating that the battery actually fired rockets but was leaving the site before spending its ammunition. The cause of that action could be South Korean counterfire directed at these launchers. Ten impact craters are clearly seen in the image, hitting within a 150 meter circle, centered about 100 to the left of the rocket battery. The number of rockets fired by the four-five vehicles also matches the number of hits counted on the South Korean island (about 200 rounds).

Following the attack the North deployed more mobile rocket launchers near the coastline. Three new batteries are clearly show on the following satellite images taken on November 24, 2010. The images show the new units under camouflage nets, in their firing positions. Part of these positions are protected by earth berms, while others are exposed in the open. The image also shows clear vehicle tracks leading to each of the sites.

Three new batteries in place by Friday 26th

Battery 1

Battery 2

 

Battery 3

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The KWB notes: This is just 3 batteries of multiple rocket launchers North Korea has moved into place on Friday in this area, remember they are mobile and will change locations. Movement of equipment and troops has been detected all along the DMZ, there are no leaves for troops, they are checking their equipment and weapons TWICE. Remember these are mounted wheeled vehicles, so they are constantly on the move- here today gone tomorrow. Hopefully, surely, we have our own satellite coverage 24/7…Monday 6th of December the South Korean military has vowed to conduct more artillery firing drills, and some experts DO think that the proverbial ‘shit will hit the fan’. Do have your documents in order, flee to Busan/Pusan, avoid running out into the streets if you hear LOUD BOOMS. 

See also: Joongang daily "Most Shells failed to hit targets"

"The Grand National Party’s floor leader, Kim Moo-sung, said at the National Assembly yesterday that after checking satellite images, 35 of the 80 rounds that South Korea fired had landed in the sea.

The images from the global intelligence company Stratfor also showed that many of the rounds that had managed to make it onto North Korean land had fallen into rice paddies and other farming land near a North Korean military base.

Kwon Young-se, head of the Intelligence Committee in the National Assembly, told reporters yesterday that roughly 10 rounds had hit the North Korean military base and one of those rounds can be seen in the photo to have struck directly on one end of the barracks."
 

Technorati Tags: korean crisis,north korean artillery attack,shelling,korea,NLL,DMZ

Latest on Korean Crisis

 Satelite photos show damage to North Korean base
Satellite photos show S. Korea's counterfire hit N. Korean barracks
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- Satellite images showed that counterfire by South Korea's military in response to North Korea's Nov. 23 artillery attack hit hard one of the North's barracks near the tense Yellow Sea border, indicating "severe human casualties," a lawmaker said Thursday.
   The North's daylight artillery bombardment left four people dead, including two civilians, on Yeonpyeong Island, the first strike on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korean marines on the island shot back with some 80 rounds minutes after the North's shelling.

Mudo is actually South of this North Korean land mass.

 The numbers 1-4 show Four Multiple Rocket Launch batteries positions two days later.

   "About 10 artillery shells fired by our military (South Korean Marines firing K9 self-propelled howitzers) landed onto a military unit compound in Mu-do (in North Korea) and one of them directly hit a barrack," said Rep. Kwon Young-se of the ruling Grand National Party, citing two satellite images provided by the nation's spy agency. Kwon is the head of the National Assembly's intelligence committee.
   "There might have been severe human casualties," Kwon told reporters after a parliament committee meeting with officials from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Mu-do is a small island situated north of the Yellow Sea border where an North Korean artillery battalion launched the attack.
   The NIS told lawmakers that, out of the 80 rounds, 15 shells fell onto Mu-do and another 30 landed onto Kaemori, another North Korean area where the artillery attack was also launched, Kwon said.
   South Korea's military has said it presumed to have inflicted "severe damage" on North Korea when it returned fire.

North Korea's military base on Mu-do, seen from S. Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, reveals signs of damage from the South's counterfire inflicted during the Nov. 23 gunfire exchanges. (Yonhap)
The KWB Notes: I seriously doubt that striking the barracks would have caused casualties SINCE they were all busy firing shells at US at the time…

UPDATE: See next post, the artillery counter-fire missed them by 'that much'. Considering the distances, different target areas, only THREE K-9 able to fire back, targeting radar system not linked to the K-9's system we were lucky to get close enough (150 meters) to cause the B-21 122mm Multiple Rocket Launch battery of six vehicles to cease firing and 'bug out'. Delays in 'permission to fire' for 13 min. from higher command due to the Rules of Engagement, also added to the ability of the North MRL battery to relocate, probably after the near misses. 

The ROK Marines did outstanding, considering they were under fire for an hour, and exposure to heavy incoming lead to 16 Marines NOT soldiers being wounded, 2 Killed-In-Action as they rushed back to their post.

UPDATE: Wounded Civilians are not mentioned in most articles but 28 civilians suffered injury from flying shrapnel, pieces of debris, and burns from thermobaric or fuel-air type of blasts. Over 70 houses completely or heavily damaged. About 200 have returned to the homes but most come back then quickly leave back to mainland. They are still staying in large bathhouses or Gym Jil Bangs in Incheon city.  
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Incheon Mayor Misspeaks
Rival parties embarrassed by blunders on Yeonpyeong Island

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Even a national tragedy like North Korea's deadly attack on a South Korean island last week couldn't stop rival political parties from embarrassment and heaping blame.

   This time, the bitter criticisms started with a faux pas committed by Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) during a visit to the devastated island of Yeonpyeong on Nov. 24, one day after it was bombarded by North Korean artillery shells. The unprecedented attack across the Yellow Sea border dividing the two Koreas left four people dead, including two civilians, and 18 others wounded. Dozens of houses caught fire and collapsed, while nearly 70 percent of the island's forests and fields were wiped out.
   The mayor, whose jurisdiction includes the attacked island, pulled a joke when he picked up a soot-covered bottle of the Korean alcoholic beverage soju from the ground and called it "real poktanju," according to witnesses, referring to a popular after-hours drink that mixes beer with soju and roughly translates to "bomb shot."

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Korean Women Rethink Military Service

According to a 2008 survey conducted on 4,355 teenagers nationwide, 56.3 percent viewed North Korean civilians as "brothers," while 12.8 percent called them "enemies."
   But observers say there is a changing attitude toward the communist neighbor among the post-war generations who grew up in abundance and considered the horrors of the three-year war something from a distant past.
   "While serving in the military near the demilitarized zone, I got a very clear understanding of why we fight: We have an enemy across the border. It is sad that people who were once brothers have to fight each other, but that is what we are facing here now," said Baek Jeong-hwan, 28, who served in a battalion in northern Gangwon Province, near the border with North Korea.
The KWB Notes: Well, after the attack on the 23rd of November the numbers most likely have changed. Everyone of the KWB’s students are angry and ‘hate’ the Commie North NOW. They have awakened the youth to reality.

Crisis in Korea-Brief update

About 30% of 122mm rockets fired by North were duds. This one landed 10 meters from an elementary school. We were lucky because it was a thermobaric warhead or Fuel-air device.

Fatface Son is being 'groomed' as successor.

Nov. 23- ROK Marines under fire managed to turn their K9 mobile 155mm howitzers around and though only 3 were now functioning, had to wait for targeting radar to pinpoint the Command and Control of North Korean forces. More than 13 min. passed before they were given permission to fire, returning first 60 rounds then when the NK opened fire the second time they returned 20 more. Two ROK MARINES, not soldiers folks, who were about to go to the mainland for leave, rushed back to their posts. They were killed as they ran to man their stations. Over 16 other MARINES were wounded in the line of duty. Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful.

Latest is that nothing is happening, the North is sitting it out, forces are on the move and being shifted forward all along the DMZ. South Korea has increased fire power on YeonPyong island with Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) vehicles and more K9's. Both sides are caught in a deep fog off the west coast, grounding the air power of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. Tensions are extremely high on both sides and mistakes could spark firefights but right now all is quiet.