New South Korean Drills Escalate Tensions With North

Seoul vows to go ahead with "massive" live fire military exercises Thursday.

Two days ago South Korean military drills near the island of Yeonpyeong passed without incident after the North backed down from earlier threats of retaliation. But the South is apparently not content with Pyongyang’s contrition and is seeking to further humble the North with what it describes as “massive” military exercises along the heavily fortified border. In another bizarre move apparently designed to provoke the atheist North regime, a 100-foot Christmas tree at the border has been illuminated for the first time in seven years. On Wednesday carolers sang "Joy to the World" while marines armed with machine guns guarded the tree. Tensions have been high in the region since the North shelled Yeonpyeong on Nov. 23.