South Korea’s military began live-fire naval exercises today that officials said would last for about a week. The exercises are occurring at specific locations along the South Korean coast, but not near the South Korean Island of Yeonpyeong which was shelled by North Korea almost two weeks ago, killing two ROK marines and two South Korean civilians.
North Korea is complaining harshly about the exercises. The North says that South Korean shells fell in North Korean territory during a previous exercise and that is why the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island. The South denies this claim saying that its exercises are always directed away from Northern territory. South Korea recently announced a change of posture against the actions of the North, with the new Defense Minister threatening air strikes against any further attacks by the DPRK.
China and the USA Finally Talk
As shells fall along the border, diplomatic efforts continue in an attempt to defuse the situation on the peninsula. President Barak Obama spoke to Chinese President Hu Jintao about the present problems in Korea, and Japanese officials are meeting today with US and South Korean officials in Washington.
Michael Wines and David E. Sanger are reporting in the New York Times in their article, “Delay in Korea Talks Is Sign of U.S.-China Tension”, that President Obama has been trying to get president Hu to talk for almost two weeks about the Korean issue, but it is only this morning that the two have finally spoken on the phone.
There may be more tension between China and the USA than both sides are letting on, and that may be part of the reason the Korean problem has yet to be defused. Recent US Naval exercises involving South Korea and Japan may have added to the tension between the two powers.
North Korean Anger
The USA also completed a trade agreement with South Korea over the weekend, something that may anger North Korea, who wants to be viewed as an equal partner in negotiations. This may be partly why the North is acting so belligerently and avoiding six party talks. The DPRK wants a trade agreement of their own, and they want the US to speak to them like any other nation.
From the USA’s point of view, North Korea cannot be accepted as an equal partner if their regime continues to enslave their people and act in a warlike manner towards the South Koreans. Recent information regarding North Korea’s nuclear program will do nothing to relax US feelings about North Korea and their regime. The two sides seem farther apart than ever and recent events may have made them more suspicious of each other.
An Axis Forged?
With China and Russia agreeing to drop the dollar as their reserve currency, and with North Korea so deliberately flaunting their uranium enrichment, the US may be seeing the beginnings of an axis forming against the West, with the “Central Powers” of China and Russia forming the backbone of the alliance.
Although the WikiLeaks information has confirmed what most of the West already knew, that China and North Korea do not always see eye to eye, China could still put a great deal of pressure on the North to come to six party talks, if that was in China’s best interest. It seems that China is more interested in sitting back and watching what happens in Korea, a dangerous game that may prove more dangerous as the days go by.
Another danger is the attitude of the West. Western nations may find they can no longer use terms like “Belligerent Child” when speaking about North Korea or China without eliciting a negative response. Such language simply fuels these nations’ suspicions that the West really doesn’t view them as equals, and isn’t truly interested in talking to them about peace and trade.
