Formula 1 folk do not worry much about “the real world” until it lands on their doorstep and they hve to deal with it. In the recent case of the Icelandic volcano, F1 was ill-prepared for what happened because it was simply assumed that all would be well. Tensions in the Korean Peninsula have barely been noticed by F1 but it is clear that there is some kind of a threat to the inaugural Korean Grand Prix if the situation gets any worse than it currently is. Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone says that F1 will be there unless there are armies involved and he clearly does not think that it will come to that but the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is unpredictable at best and the government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is clearly worried that things could deteriorate. Matters have not been helped by remarks by a North Korean diplomat in Geneva, which suggest that “a war may break out at any moment”. North Korea claims that South Korea and the United States fabricated the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel called the Cheonan in March, which killed 46 sailors. Investigations suggested that the ship was sunk by a torpedo fored from a North Korean submarine. The North Koreans say the Cheonan had nothing to do with them but it is clear that no-one really believes that.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the situation is “highly precarious” largely because of the unpredictable nature of its Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il, who has been in power since the death of his father Kim Il-Sung in 1994. The country has the fourth largest army in the world but its economy is weak, 69-year-old Kim seems to have had health problems and there are question marks about the succession. It is worth noting that the US is clearly worried about the situation as it has just negotiated a deal to keep open its unpopular military bases in Okinawa because of worries about Korea.