(no subject)
About lunchtime local time artillery started raining down on South Korean houses on the island of Yeongpyeong. Houses were burning out of control and two South Korean Marines are reported dead.
For weeks the South Korean and American military have been engaged in amphibious exercises that have raised constant protest from the North. A press release from Pyongyang claims the artillery barrage that lasted over an hour was in response to South Korean artillery fire.
The island is off the west coast of South Korea, about fifteen kilometres south of the North Korean shoreline. The sea has been the site of two naval incidents in 1999 and 2002 with loss of life and seacraft.
The report of land based artillery is a curious development as heavy artillery with a fifteen to twenty kilometre range would be required to reach the inhabited southern shore of Yeongpyeong Island. This would require placing the artillery on a fairly flat peninsular with little vegetation and poor roads, a tempting target for aircraft, warships or seabourne commandos.
Towed or self propelled artillery would have to withdraw quickly after the attack (making them extremely vulnerable in daylight) or have been deployed in fortifications, the construction of which should have been noticed before now.
The Japanese used land based artillery in Korea to defeat a superior Russian naval force in 1904. the Imperial Japanese Navy engaged the Russians and then withdrew closer to shore. When the Russians followed they were ambushed by land-based guns. A disappointing end for the Russian fleet after year long journey.
he world's media have been treating the news so far as a finance story, the effect on Won futures and the price of gold.
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20101123_north_korean_artillery_attack_southern_island?utm_source=RedAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101123&utm_content=readmore&elq=f4162de1664f44b1b1c6967ec90bc9d1
Click to viewFor weeks the South Korean and American military have been engaged in amphibious exercises that have raised constant protest from the North. A press release from Pyongyang claims the artillery barrage that lasted over an hour was in response to South Korean artillery fire.
The island is off the west coast of South Korea, about fifteen kilometres south of the North Korean shoreline. The sea has been the site of two naval incidents in 1999 and 2002 with loss of life and seacraft.
The report of land based artillery is a curious development as heavy artillery with a fifteen to twenty kilometre range would be required to reach the inhabited southern shore of Yeongpyeong Island. This would require placing the artillery on a fairly flat peninsular with little vegetation and poor roads, a tempting target for aircraft, warships or seabourne commandos.
Towed or self propelled artillery would have to withdraw quickly after the attack (making them extremely vulnerable in daylight) or have been deployed in fortifications, the construction of which should have been noticed before now.
The Japanese used land based artillery in Korea to defeat a superior Russian naval force in 1904. the Imperial Japanese Navy engaged the Russians and then withdrew closer to shore. When the Russians followed they were ambushed by land-based guns. A disappointing end for the Russian fleet after year long journey.
he world's media have been treating the news so far as a finance story, the effect on Won futures and the price of gold.
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20101123_north_korean_artillery_attack_southern_island?utm_source=RedAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101123&utm_content=readmore&elq=f4162de1664f44b1b1c6967ec90bc9d1