Can you really blame them? According to AP, South Korea had intercepted communications in August that indicated that the North would attack Yeonpyeong Island, a long disputed island near the Northern Limit Line. The threat was seen as routine behavior for North Korea, and the National Intelligence Service seemingly did not expect an attack on civilians. Many are calling out the Lee Myung-Bak administration for their failure to defend against an attack they had prior notice, and the rather tepid military response to the attacks. North Korea fired a total of 170 shells of varying sizes while the South Koreans only fired back 80. The North killed 2 marines and two civilians as well as destroying many buildings, and it is still unknown how much damage the South was able to cause in retaliation. For all the North’s saber rattling, one can understand how the threat to Yeonpyeong might be overlooked. Hindsight is 20/20.
The photo above is a DigitalGlobal satellite view of Yeonpyeong, several days after the artillery shelling.
Source: Yahoo! News via Associated Press
