ABSTRACT

On March 26, 2010, an explosion ripped apart the South Korean warship, Cheonan, in two, killing 46 sailors (see Figure 8.1). The incident happened in an area claimed by both North and South Korea. South Korean officials attributed the sinking to a North Korean torpedo. An international team reported in May that “the evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine . . . There is no other plausible explanation.”1 Tensions flared again in November when North Korean troops shelled a South Korean island near their disputed boundary, killing two soldiers and two civilians.