By As the evidence begins to mount of North Korean involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, even the US government is beginning to give hints that they think the North Koreans are involved:
The U.S. will start discussions on the resumption of six-party nuclear talks with North Korea once it is known what caused the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan to sink in the West Sea on March 26, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remarks when he met reporters after a seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. When asked about the resumption of the six-party talks, he said, “Let’s find out what happened in the sinking of the corvette” first.
“At this juncture, we told our South Korean friends that our primary objective is to work with them on the recovery of the ship,” he said. “And at that point we will be able to make some judgments about the way forward.” [Chosun Ilbo]
10:00 am on April 16th, 2010 1
effect (v): to make happen
affect (v): to impact
Compare these examples:
Increases in greenhouse gases have effected a rise in global average temperatures
Increases in greenhouse gases have affected global climate patterns.
DOD schools have effected a change to allow spousal benefits to unmarried couples of the same sex.
Greater tolerance of same-sex relationships has affected military policies such as "don't ask, don't tell."
The IWC has effected a ban on whaling off the coast of Antarctica.
The population of minke whales in the waters around Antarctica have been affected by Japanese whaling 'research.'
10:46 am on April 16th, 2010 2
North Korea won't give up its nukes. Doing so would cause North Koreans to question their government's propaganda.
11:35 am on April 16th, 2010 3
Yes I think the governments of the ROK and US both know a lot more than they're letting on, but are doing everything by the book.
And if North Korea was behind the attack, which I'm pretty sure they were, we can speculate that perhaps they did it for the purpose of stalling the aforementioned nuclear talks.
Why would they want to turn up at a meeting to give up their best bargaining chip?
11:37 am on April 16th, 2010 4
It grabs my attention too, but courtesy should prevail ^^
11:55 am on April 16th, 2010 5
Relax. I'm tweaking GI's nose about his favorite soapbox topics.
12:00 pm on April 16th, 2010 6
Remember the Al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole, 28 October 2000? The Clinton administration investigated carefully to be sure who did it. The FBI gave its definitive answer after the new Bush administration took office. Bush took no action until Al Qaeda destroyeded the World Trade Center, 11 September 2001.
12:48 pm on April 16th, 2010 7
To what affect?
2:34 pm on April 16th, 2010 8
What is the mood in Korea? From what I can tell, nobody seems to care… if it is proven the norKs were behind this, will the ROK Citizens scream for revenge or just go about their lives as usual? I think it will be the latter, which will just entice the north to see how far they can push the south. I know retaliation isn't going to solve much, but an outcry would at least show the north that the south even noticed.
3:54 pm on April 16th, 2010 9
Yes, from what I see around here, no one seems the least bit concerned. One lady I spoke to thought the ROK government is up to some conspiracy because the boat 'was old and leaky'.
It's crazy how so much of the population are blind to things they'd rather not see.
4:01 pm on April 16th, 2010 10
Would it surprise anyone if we find out later that the sinking was actually done as a test for Kim Jong-Il's heir apparent; to see if he would actually "pull the trigger" and send that torpedo towards the South Korean ship?
5:32 pm on April 16th, 2010 11
From Reuters by way of the NY Times:
North Korea Denies It Sank South's Navy Ship
"As south Korea can't identify the cause of the accident, they are using the media to attribute it to us … and trying to fabricate the cause of the accident," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a military official as saying.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/17/world/i…
5:59 pm on April 16th, 2010 12
Guys, they will know soon enough the cause of the explosion and the origin of the explosive. Chemistry is a wonderful science.
10:28 pm on April 16th, 2010 13
Somewhere, someone knows what happened, but since saving face is the ultimate idea, it will probably never come out. They have assembled a 130 man team to investigate. Do you really need so many ? Sounds like the team of obfuscation. The families have gone seemingly quiet.
10:43 am on April 17th, 2010 14
I think the South Koreans already know. Revenge is a plate best served cold. Wonder what happens in the North when a ship is sunk with no evidence of attack. Just suddenly blows up in a North Korean harbor, or enrout to China. How about a major mine far to the north being destroyed by an unknown blast. What other possibilities are there?
1:40 pm on April 17th, 2010 15
You know what they say, never believe anything until it has been Officially Denied………