S.Korea island resident told to move to bunkers

South Korean defense ministry confirms start of artillery drills; booms heard - AP

Some of the more paranoid Taiwanese are afraid that if there's a conflict the Chinese may take advantage of the situation...Yeah, I'd say they are pretty paranoid.

South Korea says it has launched fighter jets as part of live-fire drill - AP

Feels like almost any day now...

In some ways, it's good that N. Korea's bluff has been called, but on the other hand, a war will do no one any good.

Yeah but the bluff had to be called. SK has looked like a pussy this year. Losing a corvette, the civilians killed by NK shelling.

A line has to be drawn.

I agree. But then again, I understand completely wky SK would do everything to avoid another conflict.

Seoul is within artillery range and 1/4 of the country's population lives around the capital area. Not to metion the damage to the country's infrastructure and industry compared to the North which has nothing to lose.

if something is going to happen, the SKs will have to strike first, and take out the north's heavily fortified artillery positions. As others have mentioned, the north has enough conventional heavy artillery to level Seoul ....and if you factor in nuclear, chemical and biological rounds, well, Seoul striking back is sort of pointless. They might win the world's sympathy, but they will have lost almost everything else that really counts.

I'm really wondering if the North Koreans are going to wait for Christmas before they do anything, hoping the US will have relaxed(let their guard down) for the holiday.

I don't think any of that will come into play. It's all down to chance now. So much as someone farts it could trigger WWIII. The NK Colonel in charge of the arty that can strike the NLL will have just as much say as Kim will at this point and that's way too much a roll of the dice. Most of them that got to be officers are fanatics at this stage and we trust them not to take a shot? I think the die is cast brothers.

Sounds of artillery still heard on island where S. Korea has been conducting live-fire drills despite reports exercises had ended - AP

Bunker-busters and thermobarics would eventually take care of the NK artillery in teh mountains but they'd sure be able to get a lot of damage done before they were all eliminated. At this stage I wonder if the preferred strategy would be for the SK's to start heading north en masse. Draw the Pygmy's starving rabble out into the field and destroy them there instead of waiting for the reverse to happen. This isn't 1951 and the SK's aren't a pathetic peasant rabble anymore. They're a fully Americanized and highly-skilled military force in their own right now. We've had a few wars since Vietnam that show how effectively American-supplied and trained forces can destroy those who are armed with the garbage equipment of the Communists. Saddam too said he'd destroy all that went up against him. Kim could quite conceivably have the same fate as far as the destiny of all his ridiculous boasting is concerned.

arm the SK military with mortar rounds loaded with Snicker bars and scatter guns packed with M&Ms...they'd have no trouble winning the civilians over after one barrage.

Yep, but the NK army is well fed and doesn't want to lose it's privileged position, and those are the ones that have to be won over.