North Korea: Cancel Drills, or We'll Attack Again

Tensions between the Koreas ratcheted even higher today, when the North threatened to attack Yeonpyeong Island again if the South goes through with its plans to hold live-ammunition drills there. “The intensity and scope of the strike will be more serious than the Nov. 23 shelling,” officials told Pyongyang’s state-run news agency. They labeled the drills as an attempt by South Korea to save face after the “disgraceful fiasco” of that attack.

Seoul is planning to hold its drills sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, the LA Times reports, and Defense Ministry officials insist they won’t back down. Similar drills precipitated North Korea’s Nov. 23 attack. The US has backed the drills, saying they pose no threat to the North. The incident comes as Bill Richardson begins his private mission to North Korea. The New Mexico governor will tour Pyongyang in a non-official capacity, in an effort to reduce tensions. (More North Korea stories.)