A line in the sea...

Two months ago, as the Cheonan – a South Korean naval corvette – cruised through the international waters of the Yellow Sea; a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo at the Cheonan. The device struck the South Korean vessel amidships, tearing it in two. The ship quickly sank and 46 sailors of the Republic of Korea lost their lives in the unprovoked attack.

Now, after a thorough investigation by international teams, the proof is there for the world to see: divers recovered pieces of the easily identifiable North Korean weapon and the evidence has been presented to the world. Despite having known from the get-go that their brothers to the north had attacked their nation, South Korea held judgment until all the corroboration was in.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s response to South Korea’s revelations was to – predictably – call its neighbor nation and those involved in the investigation “liars.” Also quite predictably, Pyongyang ratcheted-up tensions by putting its military on high-alert, conducting maneuvers and cranking-up its propaganda machine (spewing threats of all-out war against South Korea and its allies). For its part, “South Korea banned trade with its neighbor, said it would take the sinking to the UN Security Council and announced a resumption of propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers at the inter—Korean border.”

In addition, various trip-wire safeguards (which no one really ever believed the North would adhere to) have been scrapped by the communist nation. As the Voice of America and others are reporting, “In a sharp escalation of tensions with South Korea, North Korea says it is discarding military procedures the two sides have agreed to follow for years to ensure a conflict does not get out of hand.”

The remains of the South Korean corvette...

Also worth noting is South Korea and the U.S. revealing that four North Korean submarines – the kind the DPRK typically uses for inserting special forces troops or saboteurs into the South – were detected leaving their bases. (As worrying as this is, it is a clear message from the allies to North Korea that “we know where you are and what you’re doing.”) In response to the attack, the sub launches and the North’s announcement it would no longer allow safe passage through neighboring waters, “South Korea's navy conducted anti-submarine warfare drills off its west coast. South Korea and the United States have announced they will conduct a joint anti-submarine exercise, widely expected to take place within a matter of weeks.”

As the UN Security Council prepares to cogitate on the situation, North Korea’s patron – China – is said to be working behind the scenes to protect its puppet in Pyongyang, perhaps even offering the U.S. a deal that would finally bring sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program in exchange for softer treatment of the thugs of North Korea. This, however, will not go over well in Seoul. It will not sit well with a nation that has endured 60 years of attacks, terrorism, extortion and all forms of criminality. And it will not sit well with the families of the 46 sailors massacred on March 26 in the Yellow Sea.

South Korea, which has gone out of its way for decades to seek a peaceful reunification of North and South Korea, has always viewed its northern neighbors not as an “enemy” but, instead, as a “brother.” With the sinking of the Cheonan, however, that has all changed. As the BBC reported, “Thousands of protesters have gathered in Seoul to denounce North Korea's threats against the South, amid heightened tensions between the two countries.” South Korea’s leader, Lee Myung-bak (a solid, no-nonsense head of state with a backbone), has promised to take stern action against the North Korea.

North Korea has a history of inflicting violence on South Korea and then threatening worse when the light of day shined on their misdeeds. Once again, now that the world knows what Kim Jong Il’s regime has done, the Hermit Kingdom’s mad leader is trying to bully his way through the fallout. As noted, it doesn’t look like the South will stand idly by and let their sailors’ deaths pass as mere “incidents.”

The South is not going to back down and North Korea, which only has its willingness to commit violence to stand on when it comes to any form of credibility, is going to believe its hand is being forced.

These are dangerous times on the peninsula – perhaps worse than any since the Korean War itself. The difference this time is that the stakes are much, much higher. Let’s face it: North Korea, a nation ruled by a megalomaniac, possesses nuclear weapons and has threatened to use them – this should not be taken lightly. In addition to the human toll a renewed conflict would take, much of the world’s economy depends on that part of Asia: South Korea, Japan, and China. An all-out war would likely create devastation/havoc and throw the world into a vortex previously unseen.

The madman of the North...

Back on March 26, when North Korea sank the Cheonan, it drew a line in the sea. The question is who will step over it, first?

War drums along the 38th...

BREAKING: From ABC News - "Obvious" North Korea Sank South Korean Ship - South Korean Officials Say North Korean Torpedo Hit Ship, Killed 46 Sailors: "A North Korean torpedo was responsible for the March 26 sinking of a South Korean navy ship and the deaths of 46 sailors aboard, South Korean officials said. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said today it was "obvious" that the North Koreans sank the Cheonan warship as it sailed near the disputed water between the two Koreas. (Developing…)

ADD BREAKING: [North Korea] accuses South Korea of worsening relations over warship sinking. (Developing…)

Since the cessation of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula officially ended in 1953, the communist government of Pyongyang has been nothing short of a cancer on the world, not to mention its own people.

Time and time again, whether it’s been the proliferation of nuclear weapons, sponsorship/support of terrorism, or numerous attacks on South Korea and its allies, North Korea has shown that it belongs in the Rogue Nations Hall of Fame.

Things are heating up again...

Just a little over a month ago, hours after North Korea threatened to attack South Korea and the United States with nukes, a South Korean Navy Pohang class corvette (The Cheonan), just off the demarcation line between the two Koreas, mysteriously sank.

Despite the south’s reluctance to point a finger, everyone had that same terrible feeling: North Korea must be to blame.

Investigators from South Korea, the U.S. and other countries immediately began investigating the incident. Any accusation leveled at the insane leadership of North Korea could result in a resumption of the war that never ended, and an incorrect accusation would only invite it.

But know we know.

Today in Seoul, South Korea will declare that North Korea was responsible for a torpedo attack on the warship (in South Korean waters). South Korea will formally blame North Korea for launching a torpedo that caused an explosion killing 46 sailors and ratcheting-up tensions “in one of the world's most perilous regions.”

Over at Commentary, Max Boot discusses “The Ongoing Korean War.”

Add North Korea: Is a collapse just around the corner?

If things go bad, the U.S. /ROK edge in technology might not be all that it’s hoped it will be. Earlier this year, North Korean hackers were thought to have stolen U.S. war plans to defend South Korea...

And while it seems ludicrous to even consider, a decision to not provide North Korea with World Cup soccer broadcasts could be a big straw on the camel’s back, “there are some concerns that bickering between Pyongyang and a South Korean broadcaster means North Korean fans might be left in the dark when the world's most-watched sports event begins June 11. 'Because of the strangled relationship between South and North Korea over the Cheonan incident, we have not seen any headway,' said Yang Chul-hoon, a senior executive at Seoul Broadcasting System, which holds the exclusive rights here for the games. Negotiations stalled when the North demanded that the South Korean broadcaster pay for numerous costs, including the right to cover crowd reactions in North Korea. Any broadcast arrangement must also need the approval of the South Korean government, which appears in no mood to cater to North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il. 'We cannot say whether we would approve it or not at this stage,' said Lee Jong-joo, a deputy spokeswoman for South Korea's Unification Ministry." (h/t: LA Times).

Iran continues to dominate the news as it works toward its first nuclear weapon. Al Qaeda (and other terrorist groups) continues to gain notice for their efforts to secure a bomb – dirty or otherwise. But North Korea poses an even greater danger: if it’s possible to have an even more unstable leadership, it does; it’s shown a willingness to attack military, political and civilian targets; and it has successfully created/detonated nuclear devices.

And let’s not forget, it also waged a war against the U.S. and its allies – a war that ended without capitulation and with plenty of talk (by North Korea) that it would one day finish what it started...