Posted: November 30th 2010
From Keloland News:
It's getting complicated overseas as North and South Korea clash. The North shelled a Southern island Tuesday. That's prompted the United States to to help its ally and put a carrier ship near South Korea's coast as part of joint military exercises.
The Koreas have traded strong words, and though the Yellow Sea is fairly calm now, one South Dakota politician says people in KELOLAND should pay attention.
...
"This is sort of an attempt to make a show of force," Thune said. "I think a lot of it is bravado. I think it has a lot to do with chest-thumping than anything else, but you have to take it seriously."
"People in South Dakota who follow these national security issues need to be aware of it," Thune said. "And I think all South Dakotans and all Americans need to be aware of the sacrifice that is being made by American men and women in some of these distant regions of the world to protect our vital interests."
The tension might seem a world away, but Thune says between military and families, people in South Dakota have important relationships with South Korea.
"We have a lot of people in this country who adopt, even in South Dakota, children from South Korea. So, they'll be watching this thing closely," Thune said.
Thune says part of the problem in North Korea is the unsteady regime. Next in line after leader Kim-Jong-Il is supposedly his son, Kim Jong-un, but no official leadership transition has happened yet.
