Seoul vows to bar U.S. strike at North Korea

International Herald Tribune ^ | July 8th, 2005 | Choe Sang-Hun

[Paul Ross]

SEOUL President Roh Moo Hyun declared Thursday that under no circumstances would South Korea allow the United States to resort to a military attack against North Korea.

President George W. Bush insists that he wants to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomacy, but he has not officially ruled out a military option, which he has called a "last choice."

[eccl1212]

ping

[Tiger Smack]

someone tell me why are we there? why do we care about S Korea?

[Junior]

I guess we should just pack up and go home then, huh?

[billnaz]

"Again, why is it in our nat'l security to keep troops in korea?"

It's not. I would have pulled our troops out long ago. The South Koreans have a decent army, from what I have studied of them. But if short mop-headed Dear Leader were to get antsy and threaten us, the South Koreans should not have veto power on whether or not we protect ourselves. If we choose to nuke North Korea either in a preemptive strike or as retaliation for something they've done to us, South Korea will just have to live (or die) with our decision.

[wallcrawlr]

I hear what youre saying. Those ingrate SKers can kiss my a when I read this stuff.

But I say keep 'em there. I dont think NK likes us there and I like that they are uncomfortable.

While SK may not like it either I care less about what they think. They dont have nukes pointed at us (that I know about)

[moog]

Actually, if we did attack, NK would release everything it had on SK. They wouldn't care what they did, hence the concern from SK.

[moose2004]

Remember about a month ago when Rumsfeld announced US troops would be moved from near the NK border to southern SK? President Roh was very upset at this prospect, he smelled the beginnings of an eventual pullout. You're right, his comments are nothing more than semantics, domestic politics, but if or when the chips are ever down you can bet your last nickle he'll support anything we do.

[ken5050]

DNK has nukes..regime is psychotic..US troops will be the target of a DNK strike..why should we risk 20,000 KIAs..bring 'em home now..

[kabar]

We don't need to react like a bunch of hillbillies because the leader of South Korea is senile. We'll never have a military base this close to China again. To leave would be a disaster.

The token troop presence we have there contributes very little to the actual defense of Korea. They are tripwire troops, which guarantee our involvement should the balloon go up. It is very similar to our former presence in Berlin before the wall came down.

What good is this military base beyond its symbolic presence? The Chinese could take it out in a heartbeat if an actual conflict broke out. Carter denuclearized the peninsula a long time ago. In terms of intelligence, our satellites and other assets can do just as well as a land base.

South Korea has a modern, well equipped military more than capable of taking on the North. The South has 48 million people versus 23 million people in the North. By every measure, the South has the resources and wherewithal to defend itself against the North. The US can supply the nuclear umbrella.

It has been over 50 years since the end of the Korean War. South Korea has the 13th largest economy in the world, larger than Australia, Russia, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, South Africa, etc. North Korea is one of the poorest countries on earth. It is time to cut South Korea off of security welfare and set them free to fly on their own.

[PzLdr]

Time to change South Korea's designation from "Ally" to "down range". If I were "W", I'd not only pull out all the troops, but I'd dig up any Americans soldiers buried there, buy the MacArthur statue in the peace park, and bring it all home. And when the last unit left, I'd leave a big "WELCOME" mat, written in Korean, at the DMZ wire [where I worked in the 3/ 23rd Inf. in '68-'69].

[Mad Mammoth]

By the time we're responding to the first attack, their submarines will be ready to put an end to our republic, too.

I'm glad I have more faith in our U.S. Navy, particularly our most excellent ASW forces, than you do in the ChiCom Navy. If war were to break out between the U.S. and China, the Chinese Navy would be on the bottom of the Pacific in the first 48 hours, or LESS.

Even our older 688 attack subs are more than a match for anything those ComChinks think they can throw at us either above, or below the waves.

[ken21]

#1

i agree.

they've got it every way: they sell their products to us at profit,

and they've got our military at our expense protecting them,

but they can make anti-american threats.

[jayhorn]

Roh Moo Hyun is Hangul for Dick Durbin.

[wallcrawlr]

?? I dont know.

Civilians in America will be the target if they arent.

[ken5050]

Our troops on the DMZ and in Pusan are a lot closer, and therefor easier to hit..a "tripwire" is worthess if the otherside isn't playing with a full deck..hell..let's assume the DNK regime implodes...the people revolt..yet in a "gotterdammerung" scenario, crazy Kim decides to go out in a big bang..

[BnBlFlag]

We need to get outta there NOW!

[plain talk]

I agree with you. But look at the heat Bush is getting over Iraq which was a no-brainer. Can you imagine the flack for starting a nuke war over there with this fruitcake? We should have dealt with this problem many years ago. But we are where are now. To deal with it properly now means anniliation of Seoul. This is politically unacceptable to any president. Won't happen. I think the only answer is small swat teams taking out pieces of NK slowly over time. Kind of reverse terrorism inside NK.

[sport]

Orders should have gone out from the Pentagon for all United States troops stationed in South Korea to begin packing for withdrawal immediately.Soon as the S.K. President made that statement and he should have been informed by the highest level oficial that the United States will from this day on regard what happens between N.K. and S. K. as an internal matter.

[wallcrawlr]

Its a tough call.

If I were Pres. they'd remain. Just like if Iran has nukes, I'm glad we are there too, right on there doorstep.

I dont like knowing that our troops could get hurt but I dont like the concept of trying to save our troops from getting hurt when nuking our homes is the other option.

[Stag_Man]

Anyone who thinks we should pull out of South Korea just doesn't understand the situation.

We are not there just to defend South Korea. - South Korea has long been able to win a conventional war with the North. Their defense budget dwarfs the the North's. Though the North out numbers the South 2 to 1 in term of standing army, the are much more poorly trained and equipped than the South. A lot of the North's tanks are immobile and much of their air force is in disrepair. It would take a heavy toll on the South, but few doubt that South Korea would win a conventional war with the North. Therefore, our main contribution to South Korea's defense is our nuclear umbrella, not ground troops.

The reason we are there is to oppose the North. North Korea would be a threat to our security even without the South. South Korea is the perfect place to keep troops to oppose the North and make sure that our interests in the region are protected and represented physically on the ground. The USFK give us credibility (i.e. it is a visible sign of our commitment--you can't see a nuclear umbrella) in a region vital to our economy and security though geographically remote from us.

Having forces on the Korean peninsula is also crucial to security strategy in the Far East as a whole. The peninsula has always been the lynch pin to the region. It borders Japan, China and Russia. All three of the countries are hugely important to our national interests. Out forces in South Korea put us right in the middle of the region. If China becomes hostile, we have military bases a very short air flight away from their industrial region. Bases in South Korea give us options and leverage in the Far East as a whole.

When you throw in our large economic ties with South Korea (anyone own a Samsung cell phone?) and the fact that there are usually 50,000 American civilians in South Korea--most of them in Seoul--the picture is clear that we cannot leave South Korea. It would be tantamount to shirking our nation's duty to protect our citizens lives and livelihoods.