ThoughtsOnRelationships pt2

the following is excerpted and condensed from today's news:

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea told the North on Friday to immediately withdraw a threat it made against the South's commercial airliners, which has forced them to stop flying near the airspace of the reclusive communist state. North Korea which is preparing to test its longest-range Taepodong-2 missile, said on Thursday it could not guarantee the safety of the South's commercial flights off the east coast of the peninsula, where the missile base is located.

North Korea linked its warning to joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, which start on Monday and have been held for years without major incident. The prickly North regularly criticizes them as a prelude to invasion and war. North Korea on Friday repeated it was preparing to launch a satellite as part of its peaceful space program.

South Korean officials said they saw no difference between a satellite and missile launch because they use the same technology and the same rocket. The North is barred from test-firing its ballistic missiles under United Nations sanctions.

The head of the North's delegation said the planned satellite launch was "an entirely just measure for self-defense," according to a report by the North's KCNA news agency.
"He strongly warned the U.S. forces side that as long as it does not cancel the DPRK-targeted war exercises, the KPA will take strong countermeasures to cope with the policy taken by the new U.S. administration," KCNA said.

and here be the subtle kicker:

The two Koreas are technically still at war and station about 1 million troops near their respective sides of the Demilitarised Zone that has divided the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, but not a peace treaty.

so i guess its just a MatterOfTime before......

2 b continued