It’s Christmas Eve morning in America, but on the other side of the world, in South Korea, the sun has already set on Christmas Eve, and "Santa Grandfather" — as he’s called in Korea — will be arriving soon with his deliveries.

A national holiday in South Korea, Christmas is traditionally a festive time for both children and grown-ups. But faced with the reality of growing North Korean aggression, we can’t help but wonder: is it Christmas as usual this year in South Korea? And how are Korean Americans coping?

North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island yesterday morning remains somewhat of a mystery, but many have guesses as to rationales for the attack. North Korea says the South started it by firing recklessly into North Korean territory, which the South denies. Some say North Korea did it to gain international attention because of their severe food shortages. And others, like Charles Armstrong, director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University, believe they want to send a simple message: that they should be taken very seriously.

After the death of two South Korean marines in a North Korean artillery attack on Tuesday, the United States has called on countries in the region to join with the U.S. in a unified diplomatic front. Since that call, China has condemned the attack and Hong Lei, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called for "peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."

China has long been a strategic ally for North Korea, providing much needed food and humanitarian resources, but even the Chinese were taken by surprise by the attacks this week. And they seemed to be in the dark just a few days earlier when reports surfaced about North Korea's new uranium enrichment plant.

As China calls for calm, tensions and questions continue about North Korea's attack on South Korea yesterday. 

We've been hearing from listeners about whether America should get more involved with the recent skirmish between North and South Korea. You had a lot to say, whether you were commenting from Australia, South Korea, or from within the States. 

North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean military base and fishing island yesterday certainly got the world's attention; the U.S. is sending war ships to the Yellow Sea for exercises with the South Korean military, and China is calling for calm. But what was the real goal of the North Korean attack — or was there a national goal at all?    

Both countries claim that the other started it; but the lengthy exchange of artillery fire between the two countries has left two South Korean soldiers dead, 15 wounded. South Korea says the trouble started when the North fired shells at a small fishing island in the Yellow Sea. Some 1600 residents of the island — reportedly mostly fishermen — are fleeing or entering bomb shelters. South Korea has declared a state of emergency and the U.S. has declared its support. What really started the fight?  

North Korea has reportedly fired 200 rounds of artillery shells at a military base on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea. South Korea apparently returned fire, (North Korea says they fired first), scrambled fighter jets and declared an emergency in the country. Two South Korean soldiers are dead, 15 injured, and the some 1,600 residents of the island are either fleeing or heading into local bomb shelters. Some analysts have suggested the reported North Korean attack is an attempt at gaining a strategic foothold in demanding more aid, while people in South Korea are wondering if it's the beginning of long-anticipated war.   

President Obama is meeting world leaders in South Korea today to grapple with global economic problems. Top on the agenda for the U.S.: How China's economic rise is hurting America.

Are you afraid America might lose its standing in the world?

There may be a change for the plan to completely withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the U.S. would be open to discussions of an extended stay in Iraq, if asked by the Iraqi authorities. "In terms of the future strategic relationship beyond the end of 2011, I would say that the initiative clearly needs to come from the Iraqis," Gates told reporters yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Is the U.S. legacy there going to be even longer than we imagined? 

President Obama arrived in Indonesia this morning, for the second stop on his 10-day trip in Asia. As he meets with world leaders in India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, the President will talk about global security, international trade and economics, improving cultural ties, diplomatic efforts and preventing terrorism. But some issues will be conspicuously missing from his public agenda.

After the beating Democrats took in last week's mid-term elections, all eyes, including those of our managing producer, Noel King, will be looking at what the GOP's initial moves will be this week. She'll also look at President Obama's continued trip through Asia, along with Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC Radio.

The BBC's John Sudsworth reports from South Korea on the latest in the growing escalation between North and South Korea. As tensions mount, the South has said they will reinstall loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda, prompting the North to declare they will fire at any loudspeakers. The North also said they will tear up a military pact between the two countries. However, South Korea has made it clear that they do not want to pursue military action.

North and South Korea continued to trade diplomatic blows on Tuesday, with South Korea re-designating the North their "principal enemy," a term that Seoul used to use for Pyonyang, but then retired in 2004. North Korea retaliated by cutting ties with the South, calling southern officials "puppet authorities." Brian Myers, professor of international studies at Dongseo University in South Korea, joins us from the ground with a look at the latest news.

In March, a South Korean warship was torpedoed, killing 46 sailors and sinking the vessel. Recent evidence strongly implicates North Korea as the most likely power responsible for the attack, though Pyonyang denies any involvement. Now, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has said his country will boost its defense, sever all trade with North Korea and deny North Korean merchant ships access to their sea lanes. The U.S. has backed the South Korean stance. 

But this is not the first time North Korea has taken a hostile maritime policy, nor is this the most explicit act of aggression by Pyongyang.

North Korea has threatened to wage a "full-scale war" against South Korea after the country accused its northern neighbor of sinking a warship on March 26. The South Korean government says it has forensic evidence that North Korea sank one of its warships, killing 46 sailors, but North Korea denies the charges and says the formal accusations could escalate tensions. The country has also threatened to engage in military action if South Korea implements punishments.

An international investigation has concluded that there's overwhelming evidence that a North Korean torpedo sunk a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denies the charge and is threatening war if new sanctions are imposed. We hear more from the BBC's John Sudworth on the incident and whether we should take alarming threats of "all out war" from the North seriously.

Could you live without the internet for a whole week? No email. No Facebook. No TheTakeaway.org. If that thought fills you with horror then you'll feel for two families in South Korea—the “most wired” nation in the world, with the fastest broadband speeds and the highest percentage of its population online. As part of the BBC’s “Superpower” season, which is looking at how the Internet has changed the world, these two families were asked to cut themselves off from the Internet for a whole week.

Marcus Mabry, international business editor for our partner The New York Times, and Jonathan Marcus, diplomatic correspondent for the BBC, take a look at the week ahead as President Barack Obama continues his trip through Asia, making stops in China and South Korea. They also examine what's ahead this week for health care reform, the start of Hamid Karzai's second term as president of Afghanistan, and the Republican Governors Association's annual conference.

Over the holiday weekend, a concerted cyber attack disrupted computers at several U.S. government agencies, including the websites of the Treasury, the Secret Service, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Transportation. Officials say it was a sophisticated hack that required more expertise than your average cyber assailant. Meanwhile, South Korea's computers were also hacked with a "denial of service" virus. The crimes were remarkably similar, raising speculation about the source of the crime. For more of the story, The Takeaway talks to Siobhan Gorman, the Wall Street Journal's intelligence correspondent