Again, this specific quote:
[QUOTE=Kim Jong-Il]
Any tiny hostile acts against our republic, including the stopping and searching of our peaceful vessels… will face an immediate and strong military strike in response.
[/QUOTE]
does not refer to what you say it refers to. It is not saying, “If anybody attacks our country,…”; it is saying, “If anybody tries to enforce UN mandates on us,…”
Do you understand the difference?
Incidentally, I actually did want to ask for opinions. Obviously, neither South Korea nor the United States is going to bomb Pyongyang, or anywhere else in North Korea, in response to a sunken boat. But if this incident does turn out be an attack, would we expect an increase in patrols of that region? A general military heightening? I honestly don’t know how Seoul has reacted in the past to the many, many provocations.
Yes, it is.
Air University PDF relate to North Korean Provocations. Context for contextually challenged.