HIGH TENSION IN KOREA – AT 7:58 A.M. ET:  From Fox:

Tensions have soared between the Koreas since the North's strike Tuesday destroyed large parts of this island, killing two civilians as well as two marines in a major escalation of their sporadic skirmishes along the sea border.

The attack — eight months after a torpedo sank a South Korean warship further west, killing 46 sailors — has also laid bare weaknesses in South Korea's defense 60 years after the Korean War. The skirmish forced South Korea's beleaguered defense minister to resign Thursday, and President Lee Myung-bak on Friday named a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the post.

The heightened animosity between the Koreas is taking place as the North undergoes a delicate transition of power from leader Kim Jong Il to his young, inexperienced son Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and is expected to eventually succeed his ailing father.

As Washington and Seoul pressed China to use its influence on Pyongyang to ease tensions amid worries of all-out war, the U.S. prepared to send a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to South Korean waters for joint military drills in the Yellow Sea starting Sunday.

COMMENT:  There are no reports of any troop buildup on the North Korean side of the border.  We're down to educated guessing as to why the North launched this latest barrage.  Most analysts seem to think it's a show of defiance combined with a demand for attention. 

The appeasement crowd, led by Jimmah Carter, says the North wants to negotiate.  Negotiate what?  We've been negotiating with them for years, but never seem to get anywhere.  The appeasement crowd believes negotiations are the goal of negotiations.

Iran will be watching how President Obama handles North Korea, as a sign of how far it can push in the Middle East.  North Korea would not have launched this latest attack if it felt there was a serious chance of a major American response.

November 26, 2010