Ch'ŏnan Analyses

"South Korea, which for a time expected to ride the Cheonan crisis to a heightened global profile and recognition as the key US security partner in Asia - and be in a position to leverage Western support in the event of a North Korean security crisis triggered by Kim Jong-il's death - instead [has] found itself shunted to the side as the two superpowers, China and the United States, once again dispose of the affairs of the Korean Peninsula between them," writes Peter Lee — South Korea reels as US backpedals.

Donald Kirk informs us that "reports from some of the South Korean non-governmental organizations with contacts inside North Korea have it that aides of Kim Jong-il are spreading the word that [heir-apparent] Kim Jong-eun himself encouraged and possibly ordered the attack on the Cheonan" — South Korea reels as US backpedals.