Home / Robert Farley / “Do You Know What a Blood Oath is, Mr. Ness?”

“Do You Know What a Blood Oath is, Mr. Ness?”

/
/
/
1419 Views

North Korea pulls a knife, South Korea threatens to pull a gun:

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said Sunday that retaliation over the sinking of the Cheonan must be carried out. Kim’s remarks came on the heels of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Sung-chan’s reprisal pledge made during last week’s funeral for the 46 dead sailors from the mysterious sinking of the frigate on March 26.

The Navy chief said, “We’ll never forgive whoever inflicted this great pain on us. We will track them down to the end and we will, by all means, make them pay.”

“I agree with Adm. Kim,” the defense chief told a KBS television program aired nationwide. “After finding the cause of the incident, we should pay back those responsible for killing our sailors. That’s my opinion.”

As for concerns about a vicious cycle of retaliation, the minister said, “We’ll take into account such things, but retaliation, in whatever form it takes, must be done.”

Talk may in some sense be cheap, but repeated vows of retaliation from highly placed South Korean defense officials make forbearance politically expensive. South Korea is certainly sending strong signals that it intends to retaliate for the attack on the Cheonan; these signals may (and may be intended to) politically box South Korea into a particular course of action. It goes without saying that any retaliation against the North needs to be very carefully calibrated in order to avoid escalation and a general war. Frankly, I don’t know how South Korea will manage.

Via Pileus.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
This div height required for enabling the sticky sidebar
Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views :