"Pyongyang is playing a calculated game and is aware of the danger to the survival of its own leadership if it goes too far"
"Korean DMZ remains quiet despite threats; Rest of the world debates the North's threats and missile tests, but troops in border village are calm" by Eric Talmadge, Associated Press | May 31, 2009
PANMUNJOM, KOREA -- Skirmishes have a tendency to escalate quickly.... North Korea's neighbors have reason to be anxious.... Memories of the Korean War are frightening.
At the outset of the war, which began 59 years ago next month, North Korean armor rolled across the border, catching the South by surprise. An emergency U.S. defense effort initially crumbled, and the North's forces almost succeeded in pushing the Americans off the tip of the peninsula.
This time, concerns are focused on a clash at sea. The North has threatened to retaliate with its military if any of its ships are stopped and searched for banned weapons. Deadly naval skirmishes occurred in 1999 and 2002 off disputed shores along Korea's western coast.
Despite all of its bluster, some experts say Pyongyang is playing a calculated game and is aware of the danger to the survival of its own leadership if it goes too far....
''North Korea is so impoverished it has not been able to renew arms that are outdated and degraded,'' said Atsuhito Isozaki, a North Korean expert at Japan's private Keio University. ''Its conventional military is no match for those of Japan, South Korea or the U.S.''
South Korea, where military service is mandatory, has roughly 670,000 in its armed forces. The United States has 28,000 troops in Korea, and another 50,000 in Japan.
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