Heathrow travellers tell Christmas tales of woe

Airline passengers lie on the floor in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport in west London yesterday, December 20, 2010

Angry Christmas travellers, stranded by snow and ice at London’s Heathrow, criticised airline and airport officials yesterday for failing to keep them informed and leaving them to sleep in terminal buildings.

Student Michael McGouldrich-Secilia, a 24-year-old from Pittsburgh, had been stuck at Heathrow since Saturday after snow forced the cancellation of his flight to Toronto in Canada.

“I was at terminal three for the last two nights. All I had was a mat and one of those silver insulator things (foil blankets),” he said.

“No one will give me any information,” he added, lying on a yellow plastic temporary bed covered by a blanket and clothes.

The airport was closed over the weekend after a snowstorm grounded flights. Only one of two runways was operating yesterday, adding to the frustration of travellers trying to get away for Christmas holidays.

The airport, operated by Spanish-owned BAA, told passengers not to turn up at terminals one and three because of overcrowding yesterday.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he understood travellers’ frustration.




“Whilst people are obviously deeply upset about the inconvenience, particularly at this time of year, at having their travel plans disrupted, most of what I am hearing is a sense of outrage about the way they were then treated when they were stranded at Heathrow Airport,” he told the BBC.

Brandi Gonzalez, 27, a pre-school teacher from Connecticut, had been due to fly to JFK in New York on Friday with her husband and young son but had not been able to get a flight.

Sitting on the floor in the lobby of the Renaissance hotel close to Heathrow, next to her son in a pushchair, she said: “It’s a two-hour wait on the phone to rebook a flight. Today when I called to rebook I sat on the phone for two hours to get hung up on.

“They said: ‘We still don’t have another flight out of here’ and I got hung up on.”

Dutch may introduce burqa ban as early as 2011

Photo of a woman wearing a niqab/burqa walking near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on June 24, 2009.

The Netherlands could ban the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women, as soon as next year, Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders told Reuters in an interview yesterday.

Wilders’ populist Freedom Party is the third largest in parliament and provides crucial support to the minority ruling coalition in exchange for the government taking a tougher line on Islam and immigration from non-Western countries.

His party has grown in popularity largely because of his outspoken criticism of Islam, which he describes as “a violent ideology.”

“There are not too many people who are willing to fight for this cause. It’s a big responsibility. It’s not only a Dutch problem, it’s a problem of the West,” said Wilders.


He has been charged with inciting hatred against Muslims for comparing Islam to Nazism. The case is due to start over again following a request for new judges.




“We are not a single issue party but the fight against a fascist ideology Islam is for us of the utmost importance,” said Wilders, who argues his comments about Islam are protected by freedom of speech.

Wilders said immigration from Muslim countries “is very dangerous to the Netherlands. We believe our country is based on Christianity, on Judaism, on humanism, and we believe the more Islam we get, the more it will not only threaten our culture and our own identity but also our values and our freedom.”

The burqa ban, which his party agreed as part of a pact with the minority coalition, is due to come into force within four years and possibly as soon as next year or 2012, he said.

With no clear winner in the elections in June, Wilders emerged as a kingmaker and won considerable influence for his Freedom Party over government policy. He promised support for the minority Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition in return for a tougher line on Islam and immigration, especially from non-Western, or predominantly Muslim countries.

The rise of Wilders and his party reflects changes within Dutch society over the past decade, in particular growing concerns that years of an open immigration policy and generous benefits have failed to integrate some immigrants.

Those concerns were previously highlighted by Dutch politicians Pim Fortuyn and Somalia-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as well as by the film-maker Theo van Gogh, all of whom spoke out against Islam and attracted death threats.

Fortuyn was murdered by an animal rights activist, Van Gogh was killed by a Muslim extremist, and Wilders lives with round-the-clock security in a government safe house, sometimes using wigs or other disguises when he moves around.

Wilders has used his party’s new-found power to push for cuts in the international aid budget, and strongly opposed the presence of a Dutch contingent in Afghanistan — an issue which brought down the previous government earlier this year and led to the withdrawal of Dutch troops.

Wilders’ influence has also caused consternation in the United States, which according to cables released this week by WikiLeaks had been pushing the Netherlands to take an even more prominent international role.

The US cables described the “golden-pompadoured, maverick parliamentarian” — a reference to Wilders’ dyed-blond mane — as “a thorn in the coalition’s side, capitalising on the social stresses resulting from the failure to fully integrate almost a million Dutch Muslims.”

They also described him as “no friend of the US” because of his opposition to a Dutch military role in Afghanistan.

Wilders laughed off the description of his appearance but stressed he was a friend of the United States who admired many of US values, including freedom of speech.

In contrast, he opposed bailouts for the European Union’s heavily indebted periphery: “The Dutch taxpayer will have to pay for countries that messed up ... If you mess up, you have to be responsible for your own problems.”

Wilders has also taken aim at the monarchy, saying Queen Beatrix should be reduced to a ceremonial role. A single party rarely wins an absolute majority in Dutch general elections and the monarch plays an important role in forming a government.

“We are not against the royal house. We are not republicans, but we believe that in the 21st century it’s not appropriate that just because you have a certain bloodline you have a part in government,” said Wilders.

The Freedom Party leader criticised Queen Beatrix after she called for tolerance in her annual Christmas Day speech — a comment Wilders felt was directed at him and his par

Leaked cables shed light on Thai succession risks

 58-year-old Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn

Confidential US Embassy cables released by WikiLeaks have shed unprecedented light on the biggest political risk faced by investors in Thailand — the prospect of a royal succession intensifying social conflict.

Strict lese-majeste laws make it hard for investors to make informed predictions, but the issue of succession looms large at a time of deepening tension in Thailand following the worst political violence in its modern history over April and May.

While 83-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-serving monarch, commands supreme moral authority in Thailand, the leaked cables show doubts among key royal advisers about the suitability of his son and heir, 58-year-old Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn (picture).






General Prem Tinsulanonda, the head of the privy council and a former prime minister, Anand Panyarachun, another former prime minister, and privy councillor Siddhi Savetsila all expressed concern about the prince as the likely heir in private conversations, according to a leaked cable written by former US Ambassador to Thailand Eric John.

“All three had quite negative comments about Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn,” John wrote in a memo dated January 25, 2010, and posted on the Guardian newspaper’s website on Thursday.

There has been no public comment by those quoted in the leaked cable on whether the comments attributed to them are genuine.

“We’re not in a position to comment on the authenticity and accuracy of these documents because they did not originate from us,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdihe.

Although talk of the Thai monarchy’s role and possible problems on the horizon are taboo and illegal, the topic is followed closely in Thailand’s financial markets, which fell briefly last year on concerns over the King’s health.

Siddhi, an Air Chief Marshall, acknowledged that “succession would be a difficult transition time for Thailand”, the US ambassador said in the memo.

“While asserting that the Crown Prince will become King, both Siddhi and Anand implied the country would be better off if other arrangements could be made. Siddhi expressed preference for Princess Sirindhorn,” John wrote.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is highly respected by Thais, while there is widespread disapproval of the prince’s lifestyle.

“Anand suggested only the King would be in a position to change succession, and acknowledged a low likelihood of that happening.”

Analysts say privately that there could be a prolonged period of turmoil and even civil unrest if the succession does not go smoothly.

“It’s the big issue, there is no doubt about it, and it comes up often in private discussions with our clients but it is not something to be aired in public,” said a Singapore-based regional analyst at an international investment bank, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Another major bank said in a report that succession worries impose a political risk discount on Thai assets.

Thailand’s financial markets are among the world’s strongest this year. Stock prices are up more than 40 per cent and the Thai baht is trading at 13-year highs, making Thailand among several emerging markets vulnerable to a correction.

The prince and Thanksin

Prem, widely believed to have helped orchestrate a 2006 bloodless coup that ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said over lunch with John that the prince probably maintained “some sort of relationship” with Thaksin, a divisive figure reviled by Thailand’s establishment.

Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon particularly popular among Thailand’s poor, was convicted in absentia on corruption-related charges and lives abroad to avoid jail.

He is a figurehead of the red-shirted anti-government protest movement whose supporters clashed with authorities in April and May during nine weeks of protests in which at least 91 people were killed and more than 1,800 wounded.

But Prem doubted the prince would come to Thaksin’s support in the future.

“He does not enjoy that sort of relationship,” he was quoted as saying in the leaked January 2010 cable.

Suggestions of ties between Thaksin and the prince are contentious. Thaksin’s supporters have repeatedly clashed with the royalist military, now led by a general known to have the backing of Queen Sirikit. Thaksin and his allies have been accused of republicanism, which they deny.

The queen and the coup

A separate US cable released this week quoted late former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej as saying the Queen had encouraged the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin and plunged Thailand into its current political crisis.

As a constitutional monarchy, the palace is officially above politics, but Samak said the Queen was supporting street protests against his government, dominated by a pro-Thaksin party.

Samak, premier for seven months in 2008, “showed disdain for Queen Sirikit, claiming that she had been responsible for the 2006 coup d’etat...”, the US ambassador said.

“Samak viewed himself as loyal to the King, but implied that the Queen’s political agenda differened (sic) from her husband’s,” he added in the cable.

In another cable, a palace insider told the US ambassador the “yellow shirt” protests against Samak’s government and the occupation of his offices had “irritated” the king, who explicitly told the army chief not to launch a coup.

The November 2008 cable described the Queen’s attendance at the October 13, 2008, funeral of a yellow-shirt protester killed during a demonstration as a “significant blunder” that jeopardised the public’s perception of palace neutrality.

Such candour on the monarchy is a rarity in Thailand.

Siddhi noted “that something as simple as excessive motorcade-related traffic jams caused by minor royals was an unnecessary but enduring irritant,” the US ambassador wrote.

The king was admitted to hospital on September 19, 2009, and has been undergoing physical rehabilitation. Some palace insiders say he may be released soon, possibly on Sunday.

Lee Harvey Oswald’s coffin auctioned for RM272,000

Lee Harvey Oswald’s coffin, exhumed to clear a conspiracy theory

An anonymous buyer has paid more than US$87,000 (RM272,100) to buy the wood coffin that held Lee Harvey Oswald’s body for 20 years, an auction house said yesterday.

The winning bid of US$87,469 (RM273,600), which included a 20 per cent commission, exceeded the target price of US$60,000 set for the simple pine coffin that held the alleged presidential assassin’s remains until 1981.

Oswald was arrested less than an hour after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. He was shot and killed two days later, while in police custody, by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.

“‘This was a one-of-a-kind item,”‘ said Sam Heller, spokesman for auction house Nate D. Sanders in Santa Monica, California. “This was the first coffin that this auction house has ever auctioned and it was quite a unique item.”

Bidding began on the coffin when it was posted online two weeks ago.

Auction house manager Laura Yntema declined to identify the buyer except to say that he was a “private individual” who was apparently bidding for himself.

The coffin was unearthed in October 1981 after a legal dispute between Oswald’s widow, Marina, and his brother, Robert.

Marina successfully sought an exhumation to test a conspiracy theory that a look-alike Russian agent had been buried in her husband’s place, according to the auction house.

A medical exam showed the badly decomposed body was indeed Oswald’s, and he was returned to Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas, in a new casket.

The original coffin, which had suffered extensive water damage, was sold by Baumgardner Funeral Home, the local undertaker that handled the reinterment.

The CIA secretly agreed to pay $5million to shield the architects of its waterboarding programme

Hard time: Psychologists Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen are alleged to have overseen the waterboarding of September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was tortured with the method 183 times

The CIA secretly agreed to pay over $5million in legal fees to shield two of it's employees accused of waterboarding terror suspects.

Psychologists Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen are well-known to have invented the brutal interrogation programme, now classed in the US as torture.

But former U.S. intelligence officials said Mitchell and Jessen also repeatedly subjected terror suspects inside CIA-run secret prisons to waterboarding personally.

They are now facing a federal investigation over their exact roles in the simulated drowning tactic.

It is the first time those who carried out the waterboarding have been publicly identified.




CIA spokesman George Little said: 'It's been nearly eight years since waterboarding, an interrogation method used on three detainees, was last used as part of a terrorist detention program that no longer exists.'

Normally, CIA officers buy insurance to cover possible legal bills. It costs about $300 a year for $1 million in coverage.

Today, the CIA pays the premiums for most officers, but at the height of President George W. Bush's war on terror, officers had to pay half.

But because Mitchell and Jessen were contractors, they received an 'indemnity promise', should legal proceedings ever arise.

Mitchell and Jessen were today unavailable for comment.

After the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mitchell and Jessen sold the government an interrogation program for high-value al-Qaida members after years training military officials to resist interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation and waterboarding.

Those interrogations always had been training sessions at the military's school known as SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape. They never had conducted actual interrogations.

That changed in 2002 with the capture of suspected al-Qaida facilitator Abu Zubaydah.

The agency believed tougher-than-usual tactics were necessary to squeeze information from him, so Mitchell and Jessen flew to a secret CIA prison in Thailand to do the job themselves, according to previously released records and former intelligence officials.

Former intelligence officials claimed the psychologists also waterboarded USS Cole bombing plotter Abd al-Nashiri twice in Thailand and September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in Poland in 2003, according to documents and former intelligence officials.

In a top secret report in 2004, the CIA inspector general said: 'One of the psychologists/interrogators acknowledged that the agency's use of the technique differed from that used in SERE training and explained that the agency's technique is different because it is 'for real' and is more poignant and convincing.'

Justice Department prosecutor John Durham is investigating whether any CIA officers or contractors, including Mitchell and Jessen, should face criminal charges.

Hindu priest wins $2.3m after temple owners forced him to 'work as a slave' for seven years

Temple slave: Devendra Shukla, 34, was forced to work in various jobs for a pittance by Sat Prakash Sharma

A Hindu priest has won $2.3million compensation after being forced to 'work as a slave' for seven years at a Hindu temple in New York.

Devout Devendra Shukla had his passport confiscated by Sat Prakash Sharma and his wife Geeta - who ran the Corono ashram in Corona, Queens - and was then forced to do their bidding for a pittance in exchange.

The court was told the 34-year-old worked 18-hour days, including heavy labour on a construction site, for which he received a paltry $50 a week.


Over the seven years he stayed with the Sharmas, Mr Shukla received a miserly $21,000 and was unable to once go home and see his family the whole time.





He finally snapped and sued the Sharmas and was overwhelmed when a jury sided with him and awarded the huge sum in compensation.

Fighting back the tears, he said: ‘I have received justice. I am hopeful that I will see my wife and children soon - it's almost 10 years that I have not seen my wife and children in India.’

Mr Shukla had moved to New York from his remote Indian village in the impoverished Uttar Pradesh region in the hope of providing for his family, who remained back home.

He ended up in seven years of misery at the hands of Mr Sharma, who was president of temple in Queens, and his wife, who sat on the board.

The court was told Mr Shukla had been promised pay of $500 per week, including bed and board - but the reality was nothing like it.

Instead he had to sleep in a windowless room or a ‘cell’, and was made to work from 5am to 11pm on a string of jobs for which he was not qualified.

The Sharmas have a separate construction business and they made the priest muck in as a loader, painter, electrician and pipe cutter.

Following an eight-day hearing, a jury at Brooklyn’s federal court found the couple were civilly liable for forced labour, involuntary servitude and trafficking violations.

‘From the temple of slavery, to the temple of justice,’ said Mr Shukla’s lawyer Sanjay Chaubey.

The Sharma’s lawyer Krishnan Chittur, had claimed in court that Mr Shukla just wanted a green card. He said the couple would appeal.

Jimmy Carter believes U.S. is ready for a gay president 'in the near future'

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter believes America is ready for a gay president 'in the near future'

Former President Jimmy Carter believes the U.S. is ready to elect a gay president 'in the near future.'

'I think the entire population has come tremendous strides forward in dealing with the issue of gays,' Carter said in an interview with the website Big Think.

'I don't know about the next election, but I think in the near future, because step by step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue.'




Carter served one term as commander-in-chief and then lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

He went on, 'I would say that the country is getting acclimated to a president who might be female, who might, obviously, now, be black, and who might be as well a gay person.'

President Obama is the first black president.

Former Bill Clinton adviser and interviewer James Carville then wondered, 'How do we know we haven't had one?'

America has had one bachelor president, James Buchanan, from 1857-61.

TSA under fire after businessman boards international flight with loaded handgun

Security scare: According to leaked reports, security at a number of U.S. airports has been frequently breached

The effectiveness of security at U.S. ports is being questioned after a businessman accidentally travelled on a flight with a loaded handgun in his luggage.

Iranian-American Farid Seif was screened by Trasport Security Administration officials at Houston airport in Texas. His hand luggage was also X-rayed before he took off on his international flight.

It wasn't until Mr Seif arrived at his hotel several hours later that he realised that he had forgotten to unpack a loaded snub nose Glock pistol from his luggage before he embarked on his journey.





'It's just impossible to miss it, you know. I mean, this is not a small gun,' Mr Seif told ABC News.

'How can you miss it? You cannot miss it.'

According to ABC, security slip-ups in the U.S. are not rare.

The news network claims experts have confided that 'every year since the September 11 terror attacks, federal agencies have conducted random, covert "red team tests", where undercover agents try to see just how much they can get past security checks at major U.S. airports'.

ABC added that, while the U.S. Department of Homeland Security closely guards those test results, those that have leaked have been 'shocking'.

Undercover TSA agents testing security at a Newark airport terminal on one day in 2006 found that TSA screeners failed to detect concealed bombs and guns 20 out of 22 times, the news network claimed.

And a 2007 government audit revealed that undercover agents were successful slipping simulated explosives and bomb parts through Los Angeles's LAX airport in 50 out of 70 attempts. At Chicago's O'Hare airport, agents made 75 attempts and succeeded in getting through undetected 45 times.

Ironically the TSA has come under increased criticism in recent weeks - after it introduced new measures in a bid to bolster security.

Passengers have complained that new pat-down searches are invasive, and that full body scanning X-ray machines are too revealing.

Snub for Obamas as Royal sources reveal they will not be invited to Prince William's wedding

* American President left off the guest list as it is not a 'state occasion'
* Royal couple eager to ask ordinary citizens to attend rather than VIPs
* Heads of State who may attend include Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni

Uninvited: Royal sources have revealed that President Obama and his wife Michelle are not going to be invited to the Royal wedding as it is not classed as a state occasion

President Obama and his wife Michelle will not be invited to Prince William's wedding next year.

Because Prince William is not yet heir to the throne, his wedding to Kate Middleton is not classed as a ‘state occasion’ – and the couple feel under no pressure to fill the 2,000-strong guest list with heads of state, the Mail understands.

They are more eager to ask ordinary citizens and charity workers than foreign dignitaries and VIPs to what will be the first royal ‘people’s wedding’, courtiers suggested.

A handful of heads of state are likely to be invited in line with previous royal weddings, possibly including France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

'The People's wedding': William and Kate's courtiers have said they are more keen to invite volunteers and charity workers than VIPs to their wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29

Nancy Reagan attended the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana in her husband's absence in 1981 and also received an invite to Prince Andrew's 1986 wedding to Sarah Ferguson - despite that not being a state occasion

But the decision to exclude the American premier and his wife Michelle from the celebrations marks a break from tradition.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana invited then-American president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy to their 1981 ceremony – though she came alone because the president was too ill to travel following an assassination attempt on him.

A senior courtier said: ‘It is certainly not the case that all foreign heads of state will be excluded. The guest list is still being drawn up and could change, but as things stand it’s right (to say Mr Obama will not be invited).’

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘The wedding will not be a formal state occasion since Prince William is neither the sovereign nor the heir to the throne.’

The decision is an example of William’s single-minded desire to hold the first ever ‘people’s wedding’ by packing the pews with members of the public who have worked with his 21 charities.

And as William and Kate continue to thrash out the plans for Westminster Abbey on April 29, they are understood to be looking towards the Queen and Prince Philip’s austere 1947 nuptials as a template.

With a post-war Government facing huge cuts, the then Chancellor Hugh Dalton said only the decorations in Whitehall and outside the palace could be funded by the taxpayer.

And the Archbishop of York compared the wedding to that of a commoner ‘married this afternoon in some small country church’.

Conscious of the credit crunch and rising unemployment rates, William has vowed to have a wedding that is not as ‘ostentatious’ as his parents’ St Paul’s Cathedral ceremony, with 3,500 guests.

But the couple still want to encourage a ‘street party’ atmosphere to sweep the country – and Kate’s dress is expected to cost considerably more than Princess Elizabeth’s £1,200 gown, partly paid for with 300 rationing coupons.

A royal aide said: ‘It will be done properly and well, but not in an ostentatious and lavish manner. This time is more analogous with 1947. In 1981 a lot more people were invited to the wedding. The route to St Paul’s was also longer than it is to the Abbey. It was undeniably a bigger wedding.’

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘The couple will be drawing on inspiration from elements of the 1947 and 1981 weddings – there are obvious similarities to both. They want to strike the right balance between intimacy and providing an occasion that can be enjoyed by everyone.’

In a growing sign of Kate’s formal acceptance into the royal fold, she was invited to the Queen’s annual pre-Christmas lunch with about 50 members of the Royal Family yesterday.

The traditional banquet at Buckingham Palace is reserved for family members – and following her engagement to William following an eight-year courtship, Kate finally counts in Her Majesty’s eyes.

She met many minor members of her new family for the first time, including children who may be among her bridesmaids.

The smiling 28-year-old was seen leaving Buckingham Palace with her fiance and his brother Prince Harry, 26, yesterday afternoon.

The Queen and Prince Philip hosted the sumptuous meal, understood to have been held in the Palace’s Bow Room, with their four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward - and their families.

Among the guests pictured at the palace yesterday were Charles and Camilla, Princess Beatrice, Zara Phillips (sporting a shorter bob haircut) and her brother Peter with his wife Autumn, who is due to give birth to their first child this month.

Edward’s wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, drove their seven-year-old daughter Lady Louise Windsor – tipped to be among Kate’s bridesmaids - to the lunch, while Princess Alexandra and James and Julia Ogilvy arrived with a boot full of Christmas presents.

Also there were Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, the Queen’s nephew Lord Linley and his family, Lady Sarah Chatto and her son Arthur, Lady Gabriella Windsor, Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, and Lady Davina Lewis and her husband Gary.

North Korea threatens to launch two retaliatory strikes over further planned artillery drills on disputed island

Tense: South Korean marines patrol on Yeongpyeong Island as the country announced it would stage further artillery drills over the weekend

Stand off: South Korean Navy vessels lie off the disputed island. North Korea has threatened to launch two retaliatory strikes if the drills go ahead

North Korea has again warned its southern neighbour to stop planned artillery drills on disputed islands and said it would launch two retaliatory strikes if it failed to comply.

South Korea has said it plans to carry out a 24-hour live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong Island sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, depending on weather.

Pyongyang, which claims ownership of nearby waters and has said it considers the drills an infringement of its territory, responded to similar firing exercises last month by shelling the tiny island.

Patrol: Police officers walk past a shelter on the island. Artillery drills last month saw the north shell Yeonpyeong, killing four people

Envoy: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson arrives in Pyongyang in a bid to ease the tension between the two countries

That attack killed four people on the island, including two civilians, which is home to a fishing community and military bases.

An unnamed senior North Korean military official told the Korean Central News Agency that if the south carried out more drills 'despite our military's prior warnings, second and third unpredictable self-defensive strikes will be made'.

A notice sent to the South Korean military today added that the retaliation would be made 'to safeguard our republic's sacred territorial waters' and that the 'intensity and scope of the strike will be more serious than the November 23 shelling'.

Seoul has said its planned drills are part of 'routine, justified' exercises and has warned that it is prepared to deal with any North Korean attack.

Representatives of the American-led UN Command, which oversees the armistice which ended the Korean War, will observe the drills.

The stand off comes as a high-profile U.S. state governor visited North Korea today in a bid to ease tensions.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has been a frequent unofficial envoy for the north, said he wanted to visit the country's main nuclear complex and meet with senior officials during his four-day trip.

He said ahead of his visit that he expected to get some sort of message from North Korea.

'My objective is to see if we can reduce the tension in the Korean peninsula.'

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the drills posed no threat.

'North Korea should not see these South Korean actions as a provocation,' he added.