There is a Korean proverb that goes something like: "When whales fight, the shrimp's back is broken." To the misfortunes of the Korean people they occupy a very valuable piece of real estate where there are many whales. And they are the shrimps.
A massive rescue operation was underway this evening to save the crew of a South Korean navy ship feared to have been hit by a North Korean torpedo.
Several of the 104 crew were reported to have been killed and others are missing from the ship which sunk in waters near Baengnyeong island, close to the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas.
South Korea's president President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of security ministers amid concerns the incident could become the flashpoint to draw the countries closer to renewed conflict.
A South Korean ship is said to have fired in apparent retaliation at a vessel in the north but there were no details of whether it was hit.
Officials in the South Korean capital Seoul reported 59 people had been rescued from the unidentified 1,500-tonne naval vessel which was said to have begun to sink after an explosion at the rear.
The ship was on a routine patrolling mission when it was rocked by an explosion believed to have been caused by a torpedo strike, possibly fired from a submarine.
'The cause is not certain and an investigation is underway - our priority is the rescue operation,' a South Korean official said last night.
Six naval ships and two coast guard vessels were rushed to the waters to try to save the crew, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. Rescue helicopters and ambulances also sped to the scene.
Police in Seoul were placed on heightened alert in case of attack.
Baeknyeong Island, four hours by boat from the port of Incheon, is the westernmost point of South Korea and is a key military post for South Korea because of its proximity to the North.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor...torpedo-attack-North-Korea.html#ixzz0jKIKaU1U
NORTH KOREA
THE KOREAN ARSENAL
Active Military Personnel: 1,170,000 (including 60,000 special forces skilled in infiltration and asymmetric warfare).
Active Military Reserve: 4,700,000
ARMY
Believed to have nuclear warheads, though numbers are unknown
13 types of chemical and biological warheads, amounts unknown.
5,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, believed to include mustard gas, phosgene and sarin. Among its biological agents are cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, typhus, typhoid fever and dysentery.
Total Land-Based Weapons: 16,400
Tanks: 3,700
Armoured Personnel Carriers: 2,500
Towed Artillery: 3,500
Self-Propelled Guns: 4,400
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 5,000
Mortars: 7,500
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 11,000
NAVY
Warships: 708
Submarines: 97
AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: 1,778
Helicopters: 612
SOUTH KOREA
Active Military Personnel: 687,000 (plus 28,500 US troops in support).
Active Military Reserve: 4,500,000
ARMY
Total Land-Based Weapons: 8,325
Tanks: 2000
Armoured Personnel Carriers: 2,480
Towed Artillery: 1,700
Self-Propelled Guns: 500
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 380
Mortars: 6,000
Anti-Tank Guided Weapons: 58
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 1,692
NAVY
Warships: 170
Submarines: 23
AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: 538
Helicopters: 502
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7077655.ece
