Gas masks, underground bunkers, and monthly air raid drills. These are just some of the remnants left over from the last skirmish. Since then, the residents of Yeonpyeong Island have fished mostly in peace. That was until Nov. 23, when Yeonpyeong Island was reminded of the aggressor that lives just seven miles north.

On Nov. 23, Yeongpyeong received artillery fire from North Korean forces. According to Reuters, the shelling occurred after South Korea conducted routine military drills in the same area. At least 200 North Korean shells hit Yeonpyong during the hour-long attack.

According to the Associated Press, four people were killed and 18 were wounded during the attack. The rest of the population was evacuated to nearby Incheon.

“Over my head, a pine tree was broken and burning,” said Ann Ahe-Ja, one of the evacuees to the Associated Press. “So I thought ‘oh, this is not another exercise. It is a war.’ I decided to run. And I did.”

South Korea answered with a storm of jets and howitzer missiles. President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak, however, has been criticized for not taking a tough stance against North Korea. According to the Boston Globe, the Liberal Democratic Party said the government failed to prevent the attack, despite being warned about it.

“North Korea said the military exercise that South Korea was conducting on that day was in their territory, and that was the impetus for the strike,” said Associate Professor of Political Science George Guo.

According to The New York Times, North Korea was also suspected of launching a torpedo in March that killed 46 South Korean sailors. They made news again three weeks ago when a uranium enrichment plant that could be used to make nuclear weapons was revealed.

Experts around the world are trying to figure out exactly what these latest developments mean for the Korean Peninsula. Most debates concern how much longer North Korea will be supported by China, its closest ally. Traditionally, North Korea has acted as a buffer zone between China and the Americanized military and political culture of South Korea.

“As China grows stronger economically, it will also continue to expand its political sphere,” said Guo. “China uses North Korea as a barrier between itself and the democratic ideology.”

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, China’s frustrations with North Korea “seem to be growing” due to the country’s continued brinkmanship and economic crises. The recent WikiLeaks release contains interviews with government officials that support this view.

“Reading through these (WikiLeaks) documents, you really get a sense of how fed up China is becoming with North Korea,” said National Public Radio correspondent Louisa Lim.

According to Lim, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon was quoted in a WikiLeaks cable saying that China would not be able to rescue North Korea from an economic collapse. It also states that two Chinese officials told Lee Yong-joon that China would be “comfortable” with a reunified Korea under the control of South Korea.

In fact, according to The New York Times, the latest release from WikiLeaks contains documents that “explain why some South Korean and American officials suspect that the recent military outbursts may be the last snarls of a dying dictatorship.”