FULL BLOWN WAR WITH NORTH KOREA POSES NIGHTMARE SCENARIOS
SEOUL, South Korea - A full-blown war on the Korean peninsula offers up a nightmare scenario that would cause appalling casualties and potentially trigger a nuclear exchange, experts and former officials say.The crisis provoked by North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island this week makes the prospect of an all-out conflict look less remote, and US officials - mindful of the high-stakes - have carefully avoided talk of military action.
With an array of artillery trained on Seoul, North Korea could easily blast the glass towers of the South's booming capital for days and kill huge numbers of civilians before US and South Korean forces prevailed, experts said.- Fears over the consequences of North Korea armed with working nuclear missiles have led some to call for preemptive strikes.
Meanwhile in Manila President Benigno Aquino said the Philippine government plans to move its nationals to Japan in case the tense situation in the Korean peninsula deteriorates.An estimated 50,000 Filipinos live and work in South Korea while nine were reportedly in North Korea.
Aquino has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to do test runs on the planned evacuation. The DFA was likewise directed to coordinate with the Japanese mission in Manila.- The armed forces was also ordered to place an air force C-130 cargo aircraft and a naval transport ship on standby in case there's an immediate need to ferry Filipinos out of Korea.
Officials were also coordinating with private commercial airlines. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Airways that operate flights to South Korea.- "The budget is being prepared in case it's needed but as of this time I just wanted them to make sure we are able to reach out to all of the people that we have there," Aquino said.
- The United Nations also assured the safety of nine Filipinos in North Korea, said Aquino, adding that five of them are with the UN while the others work for a tobacco company.
- Meanwhile, the Philippine government will temporarily halt sending workers to Korea amidst increasing tensions in the North Asian peninsula.
Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, said the government would be observing a "deployment ban" to the Korean peninsula after a panel formed by the government recommended such action in light of increasing tensions between North and South Korea.
NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA EXCHANGE ARTILLERY FIRE
INCHEON, South Korea – North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire Tuesday along their disputed frontier, raising tensions between the rivals to their highest level in more than a decade. The communist nation warned of more military strikes if the South encroaches on the maritime border by "even 0.001 millimeter."
According to a report, North Korea shot dozens of rounds of artillery onto a populated South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, prompting South Korea to return fire and scramble fighter jets, military officials said. At least one South Korean marine reportedly was killed.- The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea’s claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just over a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent.
South Korea’s YTN television said one South Korean marine was killed and that two people were injured. The report said several houses were on fire and shells were still falling on Yeonpyeong island, which is about 100 km west of the coast.- The station broadcast pictures of thick columns of black smoke rising from the island.
President Lee Myung-bak ordered officials to make sure that the firing wouldn’t escalate, according to Yonhap, quoting a presidential official. YTN said between 1,200 and 1,300 people live on the island, citing an island resident.- A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said dozens of rounds of artillery landed on the island and in the sea. The official says South Korea fired back. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of JCS rules, said South Korea’s military is on alert. He had no other details, and could not confirm the reports of casualties.
EXCHANGE FIRE ACROSS KOREAN NORTH AND SOUTH BORDER
North and South Korean troops have exchanged fire across the border, a South Korean official said.North Korea fired two rounds towards South Korea at their tense border on Friday and South Korean troops immediately fired back, highlighting the security problems faced by Seoul as it prepares to host Barack Obama and other world leaders at the Group of 20 economic summit next month.
An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the exchange of fire at the heavily militarized border began when North Korean troops fired at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone.- There were no South Korean injuries and it was unclear whether it was an accident or an intentional provocation, the official said. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
- The guard post is 73 miles (118 kilometers) northeast of Seoul.
- The firing of the 14.5—mm rounds came hours after North Korea criticized the South for rejecting a proposal to hold military talks and vowed to retaliate.
- Shooting incidents are infrequent at the border. The last such incident was in 2007 when South Korea said North Korean soldiers opened fire and the South shot back. No South Korean soldiers were hurt and it was unclear if anyone was injured in the North.
Despite Friday’s exchange of fire, previously arranged reunions of hundreds of families separated by the Korean War will go ahead Saturday in the North as scheduled, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae—sung said.
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