North Korea’s attack on a South Korean island is forcing Seoul into an agonising debate on how many violent provocations it can tolerate before it has to retaliate.
The question is of rising urgency as analysts argue that North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-il, is smoothing the succession of his inexperienced third son, Kim Jong-eun, by helping him build political capital with a series of “victories” over the South.
North Korea’s bombardment of Yeonpyeong island, close to the North Korean coast, left two South Korean servicemen dead and injured more than a dozen soldiers and civilians.
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