North Korea fires artillery barrage on South Korea

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by firstdown

The only thing I have read about SK holding drills in those waters is from NK which we can only take with a grain of salt without other proof.

South Korea admitted: 1) conducting drills in disputed waters; 2) firing shells.

"Pyongyang accused the South of firing first. The Southern military said it had conducted exercises but shelling was directed away from the North."
BBC News - North Korean artillery hits South Korean island‎

Not saying this provides an excuse to shell innocent civilians.

Similarly, CRR, in your hypothetical, the problem is that it was occuring in disputed waters which are slightly more amorphous than the Mexican army marching north of the Rio Grande to conduct drills. If Mexico conducted naval drills in US waters, I suspect they would be kindly asked to leave by a couple of USAAF wings who might, while conducting drills of their own, accidently drop a few air to surface missiles near some Mexican ships. Regardless, I doubt anything short of an armed invasion of undisputed US territory would provoke the US into shelling civilian areas.

SK & NK govts. extremely dislike each other and would like to wipe the other off the face of the earth. BUT - neither of there supporters are willing to just let them duke it out. So, like two little kids who don't like each other, they do everything they can to provoke the other into starting a fight so they can claim self-defense.

Just reading the reports, I think this will blow over although China is royally pissed that we parked an aircraft carrier group off their border in support of SK. Pretty sure we would feel the same if they, in support of NK, gunned up right next to Japanese waters.