World War 3 or just saber rattling?
The story so far from "Russia Today".
Regards,
Sunhttp://rt.com/news/north-korea-threats-timeline-108/North Korea threats timelineThe Korean Peninsula is experiencing a new period of high tensions, with both sides exchanging harsh rhetoric and promising retribution for any provocations. However, the roots of this conflict date back to the end of World War II in 1945.
Up until 1945 Korea remained under Japanese colonial rule but after Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers, the land was divided along the 38th parallel, with American forces staying to the to the south of the demarcation line and Soviet troops to the north.
In 1948, two states were established on the peninsula: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).
As a result of political and military contradictions the Korean War was sparked on June 25, 1950. South Korea was getting military aid from the US and 15 other states, while the DPRK was backed by China and the USSR.
On July 27, 1953 the conflicting sides signed a ceasefire agreement. A peace treaty agreement however has never been signed, so formally they have been in a state of war ever since......<snip>
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On February 12 2013, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test and warned that further measures would follow if the US continued its “hostility” against the North. The UN subsequently imposed more sanctions on the county.
The rhetoric became even harsher in March with threats to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against South Korea and the US. The North further threatened to scrap the truce with the South and nullify the joint declaration on denuclearization.
On March 29, following a mock bombing of North Korea by a US B-2 stealth bomber during a joint military drills, Pyongyang announced that “the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists” and ordered rocket units be put on standby to fire on US bases in the South Pacific.
The following day, March 30, North Korea declared it was entering a “state of war” against its Southern neighbor, stating that from now on any issues between the two countries would be resolved in a "wartime manner."
Pyongyang also warned it would retaliate against any provocations by the US and South Korea without "any prior notice."
The decision by the US to deploy two nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to participate in joint military drills with South Korea prompted Pyongyang to harden its position in its long-term conflict with the United States, North Korea's State News Agency said in a report released on Saturday.
North Korean rocket units are reportedly on standby to fire on US bases in the South Pacific.
However, in the capital of Pyongyang, life was continuing normally despite the declared state of war, Itar-Tass reported. There was no observable mobilization of military forces in the city, or any changes in troop deployments to foreign embassies. Shops and restaurants remained open, and there were no interruptions to the city’s public transportation system.
On April 1 the US upped the ante again by announcing deployment of several F-22 stealth fighter jets to the Korean peninsula. The advanced radar-evading F-22 Raptors were moved from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa to the Osan Air Base, the main US base in South Korea.
"And the beat goes.... and the beat goes on...."--SD
