ROK to stage live-fire drills at 23 spots today

South Korea has reportedly planned to hold another round of live -fire drills at 23 spots later today. In the previous two such exercises , the DPRK merely responded with denounciation in its state-owned media. ROK's new drills are scheduled to last for five days until 31 Dec (Fri). North Korea has been very well-known for its tactical unpredictability. A critical question which has clearly surfaced is how long can the ROK and DPRK go on like this without experiencing a nervous breakdown ? Meanwhile, Russia has agreed to buy from France two warships to be supplied to its Pacific Fleet, which guards its interests in its Far East. Besides contesting Japanese claim over what it terms as Kuril islands (which is named Northern Territories by Japan) specifically, Russia is also fairly wary of the general strengthening of the US-Japan and US-ROK alliances just as it has always been watchful over NATO's moves in European states which are geographically closed to it, like Estonia. Recently, two sub-hunting jets of Russia's Pacific Fleet flew over the Sea of Japan and disrupted a joint US-Japan military drill in progress.

Security dilemma in Koreas' standoff perilous