Korean War Update

There hasn't been much said about the Korean conflict as of late, so here's an update -

Military talks aimed at easing high tensions between North and South Korea collapsed Wednesday when the North's delegation walked out, Seoul's defence ministry said.

It was the first cross-border dialogue since the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean island on November 23, which briefly sparked fears of war.

A ministry spokesman told AFP the North's negotiators crossed the borderline 10 minutes after walking out of the meeting. "They even failed to discuss when to meet again," he said.

"Under the current situation, we can say the talks have collapsed."

 And the reason why the North refuses to talk -

The South insisted that the proposed high-level military talks discuss both the warship sinking and the shelling. It stressed that better relations would come only after the North apologises and punishes those responsible for them, a defence ministry statement said.

The Real Effect
As I stated in my predictions for 2011 -

North Korea/South Korea trade volleys, but do NOT go to war. I don't believe this particular feud is at a fever pitch quite yet.

Everywhere in the world, one can observe the chess pieces moving into place. To be sure, it will take some time to get there, but eventually we will have a checkmate.