GLOBAL JOURNALIST: Hostilities between North and South Korea reach new heights

Charles Davis, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Missouri School of Journalism: This week’s hostilities between North and South Korea reached new heights, raising questions about the U.S. and China’s involvement in the conflict. On Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak changed policy toward North Korea from passive defense to proactive deterrence. North Korea announced plans to pull out of a nonaggression pact with Seoul. Both countries have said they will cut economic ties with each other. The tension started to rise when a South Korean warship was sunk in late March and 46 South Korean sailors were killed. Multi-national investigators declared that North Korea was accountable, but North Korea has denied responsibility. Meanwhile, the U.S. has come out in support of South Korea and will conduct joint anti-submarine exercises with the South Korean military. During high-level talks in Beijing this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged Chinese officials to condemn North Korea. China, however, has remained on the fence. To help explain the situation, we have an expert on North Korea, Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Beijing bureau chief and author of "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea"; Myo-ja Ser, staff writer, JoongAng Daily, Seoul, South Korea; Jon Herskovitz, chief Korea correspondent for Reuters; and Peter Ford, Beijing bureau chief of the Christian Science Monitor. Myo-ja, how likely is it that North Korea sunk the Cheonan? Is that the general consensus view on the streets in Seoul?