Tensions are heightening in the Korean Peninsula of late as the situation is turning more hostile as both sides across the 38th Parallel continue to harden their positions. The Nov. 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island was the fourth conflict in the Yellow Sea in the past decade, which saw naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009. In the latest artillery attack on Yeonpyeong, North Korea said it was responding to provocation by South Korean military exercises taking place along the Northern Limit Line, which serves as a maritime boundary between the two Koreas. Reacting to the shelling, US President Barack Obama has pledged support for South Korea and urged China to restrain its friends in Pyongyang. Obama stressed that North Korea must stop its provocative actions, which will only lead to further isolation, and abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement and its obligations under internationa...