South Korean navy ship sinks, North link played down

The only thing I worry about here is the message the decision by South Korea will send. If they do nothing, that sends a message that it's alright to sink their ships.

A few fact need to be straightened out is what was going on before the torpedo was fired. I am fairly certain that the SK navy would not just fire on any unidentified ship. Captains will lose their command over something like that. That ship must have been doing something that would call for some sort of action to be taken. Prehaps the SK ship was firing warning shots? Did they attempt to communicate with the unidentified ship only to find it unresponsive? There are several things that must be taken into consideration, which the everyday Joe wouldn't think about.

I wouldn't hope for a war with NK. WW3 wouldn't be fun either. I think the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have spoiled some into thinking that they can sit back and watch every war. A war with NK would be a particularly brutal war. All of the "play nice" rules would go out the window, those only come into play when we have a distinct advantage. It's alright, when the supporters of the play nice rules started seeing South Korea bodies pile they would disregard them as well.

reply to post by Mdv2


And you'll be the first to wet yourself when you see the first blinding flash of light outside your window. WW3 won't be as fun as you expect it to be.

i got a dollar on it was one of china's supposed stealth submarines.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

this screams false flag for some reason.

reply to post by dodgygeeza


Wrong. I think it would be fun as hail. All those fun radiation bursts and bullets flying around. Afterall everyone in America is obsessed with movies about war and guns so why not bring it from the screen to real life? Its only fair

The boat, in question, has sunk.

No idea on casualties. Rescue operation is occurring, and is the most significant matter at the moment. Local media blaming the North. The South cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss possible retaliation.

Where the heck was the ship headed?

Judging from the map presented here at BBC looks like they were riding over to park in Kim Jong's backyard.
BBC

Personally I think that was asking just asking for trouble.

- Lee

Originally posted by mahtoosacks
this screams false flag for some reason.

Or it screams, "these two countries have a history, post-Korean War, off taking shots at each other: every year"

Anybody hear anything on the weather there? Night SAR ops with only a few helicopters for that many people is not a picnic. Especially when there is the possibility of enemy forces around. A ship engaged in rescue operations makes a pretty inviting target.

reply to post by bluemooone2


I don't think it's so much that they were "playing around" with the border. Baengnyeong island, near the border line, is controlled by South Korea and that's where the ship is sinking. They may have been doing something there when this happened.

Originally posted by infinite
Local media blaming the North. The South cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss possible retaliation.

They are waiting until tomorrow to discuss this?
Why not today?
Seems a tad odd IMO,to wait a whole day for something so serious.

reply to post by JIMC5499


Link to weather in North Korean cities:
www.wunderground.com...

Currently:
Pyonggang 30 °F 83% 29.93 in Overcast SW at 2 mph

reply to post by Silcone Synapse

They are waiting until tomorrow to discuss this?

I forget which news source said it, but, I remember reading that the president of South Korea called an emergency cabinet meeting. Maybe I read wrong, but it sounds weird that they'd wait until tomorrow to discuss this.

reply to post by JIMC5499


If they sent out a rescue ship and that was sunk too.... That would seal the deal.

Good point, it's currently 1:30am in Korea.

S&F for the OP bringing this possible big story to our attention..

for the panic-sex crowd..

this type of thing isn't new, it's a country torn apart, both sides always on elevated alert.. stuff like this is bound to happen.

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


It occurred around 9 or 10PM their time. I would imagine the "next day" is not that far off since they are in the middle of a nighttime rescue mission.

The south Koreans are now reported to have fired on another North Korean Ship in an escalation of this very worrying incident:

SEOUL, March 26 (Reuters) - A South Korean naval ship fired at an unidentified vessel to the north on Friday after a South Korean naval vessel began sinking, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Reuters

Also it is emerging that:

South Korea's government has convened an emergency meeting of security ministers, according to state television.

Daily Mail

Latest breaking Reports indicate seperate South Korean ships are "Firing" at several targets from the North!!!:

South Korea's Korean Broadcasting System said the ship, the Cheonan, was patrolling southwest of the island around 9:45 p.m. when the explosion took place, a military official said.

The official said Navy vessels and helicopters were rescuing crew members, some of whom reportedly jumped into the sea after the blast, the KBS report said.

The official said the Sockcho, another South Korean navy vessel patrolling nearby, fired at unidentified ships north of the area.

CNN 4 Minutes ago

The Following is the Known Submersable inventory of North Korea as of today

SS Whiskey Class

x1 1

SS Romeo Class

Most of the submarines employed by the DPRK are of a 1940s or 1950s Soviet Union design. By the mid-1990s they included 21 or 22 ships of the Chinese version of the Soviet Romeo class and four Soviet Whiskey class diesel attack submarines. In addition to these submarines, the DPRK reportedly hds nine new SANG-O class coastal submarines and between 48 and 67 midget submarines.

2

Also:

SSG Golf Class

In January 1994 Russia signed a deal with North Korea to sell a total of 12 [initially reported as 10] Foxtrot-class (Project 641) conventional attack submarines and Golf II-class (Project 629) ballistic missile submarines. The basic design of the Golf submarine is based on the 641 Foxtrot, and the Foxtrot's electromechanical installation for surface and underwater navigation, the hydroacoustic system, the radar facilities and the radio communication systems were incorporated into the Golf without change.

3

In addition:

SSC Sang-O Class

While the North Korean submarine force reflects dated technology by Western standards, North Korean submarines during wartime would present significant challenges, particularly in coastal areas. North Korea has placed high priority on submarine construction programs which are ongoing despite its economic hardships. An example of this is the SANGO SSC, a simple submarine constructed in two variants, for use in the covert insertion of Special Operations Forces (SOF), mining or antisurface warfare. The submarine comes in two different variants, one with torpedoe tubes and the second without but with the capability to lay mines.

The Sang-O (Shark) class submarines are used for special forces infiltration into South Korea and have at times been captured by ROK forces. According to Janes Fighting Ships 2002-3 Sang-o class submarines began to be constructed in 1991 at Sinpo and were be constructing at 4-6 a year by 1996. Reports indicate that only three were built in 1997 and it is unclear what was produced in the following years.

4

Also they have midgets but very effective in coastal waters, and these are still dangerous warships:

SSM Yugo and P-4 class (Midget Submarine) (SSW)

The North Korean Yugo class (NATO code name) is said by some sources to be so named because it was built to plans supplied by Yugoslavia in 1965. The Yugoslav Navy was designed to control the coast of the Adriatic with fast patrol boats, frigates and small submarines. These submarines included three Heroj class submarines commissioned in the 1960s, no less than nine Una and Mala class midgets submarines (the same model was later sold to North Korea) and two more modern Sava class boats laid down in 1975. The Savas were 964 tons full load displacement, and carried six 533mm forward torpedo tubes in a 65 meter (213 foot) long hull.

5

Lastly they have the submersable Midgets:

SSI Small Submersible

The North Korean maritime SOF threat is very real, substantial and dangerous. The CFC must intercept and destroy infiltrating maritime SOF elements to prevent them from reaching the ROK coastline and infiltrating into the ROK interior to disrupt CFC’s rear operations. This is a challenging task because 86% of the ROK border is coastline, inundated with thousands of rocky islets, and is conducive to maritime infiltration operations by the North. The defense of the ROK is further complicated by the relative ease of access to its coastline from the sea and by the extraordinary size of the North’s special purpose forces, the largest in the world.

The SILC is a high-speed semi-submersible craft that can be used to infiltrate North Korean Special Forces. North Korea has adapted technology to focus on invading the ROK; this boat is powered by three inboard-outboard engines and is capable of submerging for limited periods.

6

As can be seen they certainly have more than the capability to do this.

However i doubt even if this "Explosion" on the South Korean ship was from a Norths torpedo it was done on purpose by the regime.

If they were going to attack I am sure a lot more ships would be sinking.

They are not daft enough to just attack one and hope there will no problems from it, no strategist takes away the element of surprise which is now lost.

I think if an attack was intended and planned from the top it would be much larger than this.

The political statement made by this will be more costly in negotiations and sanctions etc than it is worth. Th crazy leadership does not need a propoganda coup anyhow, as the population is brainwashed and has no access to outside information.

I am hoping therefore due to this, that an accident has occured and the South have mistaken it for an torpedo attack, luckily it seems they did not ht any North Korean ships themselves, so hopefully cool heads will prevail.

Even if a North Korean Torpedo started this, I hope it was just a rogue commander, and he will probably be exucuted when getting to shore.

World Wars have started over less than this, and lest us not forget the long and difficult times in Korea for the US, the Hidden Vietnam if you like.

Wishing, praying hoping as I said, not a crazy regime loosing the plot.

Reports of Kim Jongs II helath indicate he is increasingly paranoid, and also ill needing regular dialysis.

A coup may be underway, or could happen as a result of this.

Kind Regards,

Elf

reply to post by octotom


The only reason I can think off as to why they may wait until tomorrow would be If today they are meeting with US people,or attempting to find out exactlly what went on in the water.

At least they are not rushing into a conflict I suppose.

Originally posted by lpowell0627
reply to post by JIMC5499

 

Link to weather in North Korean cities:
www.wunderground.com...

Currently:
Pyonggang 30 °F 83% 29.93 in Overcast SW at 2 mph

and a 10% chance of nuclear fallout.........

I can't see this turning into open war,there is just too much at stake for each side,millions of people would die,and the fallout would cross the globe,this will probably just go down as another skirmish in Korea's embattled history imo.

[edit on 26-3-2010 by all2human]

reply to post by hawaiinguy12

Afterall everyone in America is obsessed with movies about war and guns so why not bring it from the screen to real life? Its only fair

No, actually they are obsessed with movies about Zombies.