U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in South Korea this week to show unity between the two countries and to plan joint-military drills meant to-- as one U.S. military official put it-- send a message of deterrence to North Korea.
This comes four months after the sinking of a South Korean warship- the Cheonan- which killed 46 soldiers.
The United Nations condemned the attack, but did not go as far as laying blame on North Korea.
An international investigation led by south Korea concluded it was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, which North Korea denies.
North Korea often makes the headlines. And usually for the wrong reasons…the country is regularly referred to by western media as a rogue state. And its unpredictable diplomatic maneuvers don’t help matters. But this has not deterred a company run by Westerners… based in Beijing…from doing business in what is sometimes called a “hermit kingdom”.
The world is on edge after North Korea shelled South Korea off disputed waters. Susan Osman's guests get heated over the historic significance and how the international community should get involved.
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China says it is concerned about reports that a U.S. aircraft carrier may join a military exercise with South Korea amid a tense standoff with North Korea over the sinking of a warship from the South.
The South Korean corvette the Cheonan was sunk off the peninsula's west coast in March, killing 46 sailors. South Korea has blamed the North for sinking the Cheonan with a torpedo fired from a submarine, a charge the North denies.
The United States and South Korea have since said they will hold a joint anti-submarine drill.
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Tensions on the pided Korean peninsula have risen dramatically since international investigators said last week that North Korea was responsible for a torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.
Relations are now at their lowest point in a decade. South Korea, backed by the U.S., Japan and other allies, began implementing a package of punitive measures earlier this week - ranging from slashing trade, resuming propaganda warfare and barring the North's cargo ships. Those were seen as among the strongest it could implement short of military action. Washington has promised ''unequivoca'' military support for South Korea.
North Korea meanwhile has vowed to retaliate. It has threatened all out war, cut relations with South Korea and has barred South Korean ships and airliners from passing through its territory.
China, North Korea's main ally, has so far tried to remain neutral, calling on both sides to ''exercise restraint.'' Whether or not the two sides hold off, or launch into a cross-border war is a question that's on a lot of people's minds at the moment. And it's one that's being debated online here. Let's cross to the newsroom now where our researcher Emma Wang has been gauging reaction.