Emergency meeting of top commanders and president in South Korea

For the first time in the 62-year history of Korea’s military, a president will chair an emergency meeting of top commanders to discuss the national security crisis prompted by the sinking of the Navy warship Cheonan near the inter-Korean border.About 150 commanders from the Army, Navy and Air Force will attend the meeting with President Lee Myung-bak tomorrow, according to Blue House spokesman Park Sun-kyoo.

“We must exact clear punishment against the forces that killed our sailors,” Defense Minister Kim said. “We have to consider the vicious cycle that retaliation brings about retaliation, but we must identify those responsible by an indisputable probe and show them consequences.”

Kim told the lawmakers he is reviewing the issue of invoking the right of self-defense. “If necessary, we have the air capability to make an armed demonstration [toward the North],” he said

President calls up top commanders to discuss security

Now I don't know the possible actions that can be taken by South Korea subsequent to this meeting. However, I think I read somewhere that Lee Myung Bak, the president of South Korea, is considered to be a hardliner with respect to the policy towards North Korea. Hence, if the international probe on the sinking of warship conclusively nails the blame on North Korea, it might get a bit difficult for Lee Myung Bak to pursue the course of inaction. Perhaps, this president might be trying to avoid a military conflict that might become catastrophic and hence is resorting to verbal rhetoric and calling "unprecedented" security meetings.

Hmmm, wonder if this has anything to do with Kim Jong hopping onto his Bullet Proof Train and going to China. I'll see if I can find the link.

Here we go: www.msnbc.msn.com...


[edit on 3-5-2010 by TortoiseKweek]

I think that the South Korean president is trying to avoid a conflict that might be initiated under a hostile domestic opinion. Hence, he might be resorting to such verbal rhetoric to pacify the public sentiment as well as avoiding a possibly catastrophic conflict.

The North Korean government cannot retain internal control over its own people without holding the threat of war over them. Indeed, it is the only thing left the NK gvt can do to maintain control, so expect to see more and increasing belligerence.

In the old days, NK claimed that life in South Korea was "a living hell" and that the North Korean population was lucky to live in relative "prosperity." Actually, through the 1960s, the GNP per capita was higher in the North, and claims of a better living standard were not as unreasonable as they might seem. However, NK stagnated while South Korea became wealthier in the 70s, 80, and 90s. Even amid the catastrophic famine of the 1990s, NK could claim a comparative advantage because of total media and human-movement control. This is no longer possible. The movement of people, goods, and information across the border from the South and from China, Japan, etc. has become too strong, and in recent years it has revealed to the average North Korean how shoddy their lives are in comparison.

Since the NK government can no longer make legitimate and believable claims to economic superiority, or regarding other propaganda matters about the outside world, their only way of maintaining contol over the populace is MILITARY threat.

Military moves by the north should be read as aimed at propping up control over the inccreasingly unstable internal situation, rather than as fear of the outside per se. Paradoxically, this may end up making North Korea MORE dangerous rather than less to its neighbors, as it grows more and more necessary to use fear and militarism to control an unhappy population that is just now beginning to understand how badly it has been lied to about the world over the past decades.



[edit on 5/3/10 by silent thunder]

Originally posted by order in chaos
I think that the South Korean president is trying to avoid a conflict that might be initiated under a hostile domestic opinion. Hence, he might be resorting to such verbal rhetoric to pacify the public sentiment

I don't think he would be calling up 150 Commanders
just to throw rhetoric at NK.

I mean c'mon
why else would you put on a condom
if ur not gonna _____

How about the pressure of U.S State department in this region? I think that normally they wouldn't like a new military conflict to be ignited in the Korean peninsula and would usually try to calm down the situation. However, in this case, South Korea is going ahead with its statements like retaliation. Could it be possible that Washington has covertly given its consent to South Korea to go ahead with its plans, whatever they might be.

Originally posted by order in chaos
How about the pressure of U.S State department in this region? I think that normally they wouldn't like a new military conflict to be ignited in the Korean peninsula and would usually try to calm down the situation. However, in this case, South Korea is going ahead with its statements like retaliation. Could it be possible that Washington has covertly given its consent to South Korea to go ahead with its plans, whatever they might be.

Possible but doubtful. I have trouble seeing what a war on NK would do for the US, which already has plenty of military and economic headaches and complications of its own. I can't see why the US would want to start a conflict on the Korean pennensula now, although of course there may be information we don't have about the situation.

I think its far more likely that North Korea is becoming a legitimate threat based on its need to control its own restive population, as described above. The instability would be eminating from the North, and the South would be responding.

[edit on 5/3/10 by silent thunder]