Inter-korean relations in free fall

Despite the tragic incident of Cheonan, there were a few noticeable exchanges of conciliatory gestures this year from both sides, although they eventually failed to materialize.

In October, South Korea resumed government-funded rice aid to the DPRK for the first time in three years as part of a flood aid package, in what seemed like a change to the president's usually heavy-handed dealing with Seoul's former wartime rival.

Several rounds of Red Cross talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and the brief yet symbolic reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, offered the biggest opportunity for the neighbors at odds to put the Cheonan incident behind them.

Members of the six-party talks over ending Pyongyang's nuclear program were engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activities, raising hopes that the moribund disarmament talks can be revived in the not-too-distant future.

With the end of the year approaching, however, chances for further rapprochement on the Korean peninsula look slimmer than ever.

On Nov. 23, during a South Korean military exercise, the DPRK artillery shelled the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong, killing two marines and two civilians, which prompted immediate return fire from South Korean forces.

While expressing regret over the civilian deaths, the DPRK claimed the shelling was for self-defense and provoked by Seoul and Washington who were then being engaged in annual naval drills near the disputed western sea border -- the Northern Limit Line ( NLL), which was set unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations military forces at the end of the Korean War in 1953 and was never recognized by the DPRK.

Due to the incident, described by Seoul and Washington as " unprovoked attack," which targeted the South Korean soil and civilians for the first time since the Korean War, South Korea is now seeking to revise its rules of engagement to give more elbow room to the military in responding to attacks and readopt the official description of Pyongyang as a "main enemy" in its defense white paper.

A blueprint to gradually scale back forces in the five islands in the Yellow Sea has been scrapped, and the South Korean government now plans, instead, to bolster military forces there. Lee even called for the "gradual fortification" of the islands.

Seoul also replaced the defense minister in a step designed to boost military morale. The Newly-appointed defense minister, Kim Kwan-jin, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made headlines with his tough talks that included air raiding the DPRK if it launches another attack.

Only days after the maritime clash, Seoul and its ally Washington jointly staged another massive naval exercise in the Yellow Sea.

In what Lee said would be a "catalyst" for the Seoul-Washington alliance, the two countries settled their longstanding difference on the two-way free trade agreement, despite the opposition's claim that Seoul practically gave up on its economic interest for Washington's security umbrella.