Tensions Escalate in Asia, North Korea Readies Missiles

North Korea has recently placed surface-to-air missiles on its launch pads in the Yellow Sea. This comes when the US and South Korea are conducting military exercises immediately after the North fired on South Korean military installations near the border between the two Koreas. The North was provoked when the South began shooting into the North's waters while conducting a drill that simulated an invasion of the North.

China has opposed the new South Korea and US military drills. China and Russia have been calling for peace in the region, but China refuses to criticize their ally North Korea.

The chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly will meet with Chinese officials on Tuesday.

The North Korean attack on Southern military infrastructure resulted in the death of two South Korean marines and two civilians. North Korea has called the civilian deaths "very regrettable."

South Koreans protested outside of a US Navy base in Pyeongtaek yesterday. They called for a halt to the war exercises between their country and the United States, and held signs calling for the USS George Washington carrier to "go home."

The USS George Washington further irritated China recently when it entered waters just west of the Korean Peninsula. China considers that area to be its "exclusive economic zone" and has objected to the foreign navy drills being held there without permission. Barack Obama, however, claims that China was notified of their plans ahead of time.

In a seemingly related note, two Chinese patrol boats came close to Japanese territorial waters today to patrol disputed islands, upsetting Japan. Known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, both countries claim these islands. It is worth mentioning that Japan is a close ally of the United States and foe of North Korea.