North Korea warns South to stop border DMZ tours

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62S00Y20100329

North Korea has warned South Korea and the United States to stop allowing tours within the border zone. This warning follows the sinking of a South Korean navy ship on Friday, the cause of which is still unknown. There has been speculation as to the cause of the sinking; possible causes include the explosion of a Korean War-era sea mine and a deliberately placed mine, both from the North. North Korea has yet to make mention of the sinking in its media, but did issue the land border warning. The warning insists that the United States and South Korea forgo allowing journalists and others to tour the Demilitarized Zone, even though the North conducts tours as well.

The North and South Korea conflict still persists to this day, although it is not as violent as it once was. The sinking of the ship, however, will be a new source of conflict, especially because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. This again goes back to Mearshiemer and his assumptions about states. Since South Korea can never be completely sure of North Korea's intentions, they are likely to assume that the sinking was an intentional occurrence. This article also describes the hypocrisy of North Korea, which I found interesting, since they are asking South Korea to halt tours while they plan on continuing theirs. The whole North Korea/South Korea debate is very interesting, since it seems like there is no easy way to resolve all the different conflicts between the states.