Reunification?!

“Up in the North things are looking uglier than at any time since the armistice. If we get committed in Iran/Iraq, look for the North, probably at the instigation of the North’s masters in China, to try something, possibly causing us to have to reinforce the troops there in the South now. Pure speculation I agree, but don’t forget that on June 25,1950, the last thing our military command in the Far East was looking for was the North Koreans boiling across the border between the two Koreas, destroying everything in their path.”



That was an extract from Skip’s article from April 5, 2010 (‘South Korea… Shut Up And Smile’). Well, it appears that today’s attack was not at the behest of China (as far as we know), but they sure are flexing their muscles as anticipated. About a month after the installation of Kim Jong Un as military leader and heir-in-waiting to the failing Kim Jong Il, we witnessed a show of strength as a display to the impoverished North Korean people that the family dynasty has no intention of relinquishing its power.

As usual, the North played innocent… “We didn’t fire first!”… just as they denied knowledge of the destruction of the ‘Cheonan’ and murder of forty six naval personnel. This denial continued after an independent international investigative team proved beyond doubt that the ship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo.

I knew the comments that would come from world leaders before I even heard them. “We condemn this action” is always a politically correct response from Obama and the UN, along with various other leaders who are afraid to commit themselves to any action. A comment that I found somewhat insulting to South Korea came from Russia… “We urge restraint on both sides”. Huh?! They just had two Marines killed and many more people injured by an unwarranted attack. In March, they lost forty six personnel while on a routine patrol. I think S. Korea is showing remarkable restraint, given the circumstances.

John Bolton gave his views on the situation today and, as usual, he was pretty much on the money. I was a little surprised by his ‘ultimate solution’ of reunification. I’m not saying that it could not, or will not, happen some time in the future. It just seems like ‘pie-in-the-sky’ at the present time, with two of the most disparate political and economic neighbors imaginable.



There are more pressing problems to solve right now. How many attacks will South Korea endure before it retaliates? Will we, and other western countries, go to their aid? With around 30,000 US military personnel based in South Korea, the answer is fairly obvious.

The whole situation is further complicated by the recent revelations on how very close the North is to having full nuclear capability. Some very serious decisions need to be taken now… it’s time to stow away the cliché condemnations and do something!

(Editor Dee is in for Skip today)