Posted on 12/02/2010 6:35:44 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
'NK could target mainland next'
By Kim Young-jin
Future attacks by North Korea could target mainland South Korea, not a border island, a Japanese newspaper reported as the South remains on its highest alert after Pyongyang’s deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.
Citing a source familiar with North Korea, the Tokyo Shimbun reported that a high-ranking military official in the North Korean army said late last month there would be an attack on Gyeonggi Province within the year.
The report came amid concerns of another attack after the South and the United States held four days of joint naval drills.
Seoul officials say the North will likely carry out more belligerent acts in a bid to further ratchet up regional tension. In anticipation, the military has beefed up its capabilities on the five West Sea islands near the maritime border.
Inter-Korean tensions have soared in the wake of the bold daylight shelling, which came eight months after the North sank the South’s warship Cheonan near the disputed border.
The North Korean official also said there would be another attack on South Korean warships in the West Sea, the report said. President Lee Myung-bak has pledged to make the North pay a “dear price” if it strikes again.
Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia reported that the North appears to be readying its military at a West Sea base.
Citing a well-informed source, RFA reported that additional commanders have been dispatched to the base in South Hwanghae Province to check on the preparedness of soldiers there, who are operating under a special state of readiness.
On Tuesday, outgoing Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers of the “substantial possibility” of additional provocative acts after the joint drills, adding the military was “fully prepared to launch counterattacks.”
Seoul is considering holding a live-fire exercise next week and consulting with Washington about holding additional drills in western waters.
Analysts say the North could act up again in a bid to consolidate power for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and heir, Kim Jong-un.
Such moves could include more shelling, an assault landing on Yeonpyeong, the dispatch of forces to South Korean waters or flying a fighter plane across the Northern Limit Line.
The shelling coincided with Pyongyang’s revelation of a uranium enrichment program. It said Tuesday it is operating thousands of centrifuges after recently unveiling the enrichment plant to a visiting American scientist.
The international community has largely condemned the North for the Yeonpyeong incident, with the notable exception of China, which has called for the resumption of multilateral denuclearization talks. Beijing, analysts say, avoids condemning its communist ally for fear of causing instability on its borders.
Watchers say the North’s periodic raising of tensions in the West Sea coincide with its calls for a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War to put a legal end to its confrontation with the United States.
yjk@koreatimes.co.kr
Uhh yeah. And the local chiefs who are farming women and cheap labor from that flood are going to love that.
Mobilizing a million troops in China these days isn’t that easy, especially when there is money to be made by letting them in the country.
Okay - which argument are you making??
Either
“China can’t even keep NK refugees out of their country. If the balloon goes up, that trickle becomes a river.”
Which, you seem to imply, would be an insurmountable problem for China
or
“especially when there is money to be made by letting them in the country.”
IOW - no problem...
Can’t have it both ways....
I wonder what the norks would do if we gave them absolutely nothing - no concessions, no food, no money, zilch - in response to aggression?
It’s something the government of China doesn’t want.
It’s something the criminals in China do want.
In China, there is no real central authority. Everything is controlled by bribes and money. For instance, in China, it is against the law to eat certain rare animals. That means the only people who can eat those animals are politicians and the people responsible for arresting the people who break that law.
Honestly, I doubt that Bejing has complete control of all of the military.
People today sound alot today about NK like they did about Afghanistan prior to 9/11.Before 9/11 all the human interest groups was preasuring the US/UN world body to do something about the atrocities the taliban was inflicting on women.Next thing ya know, some NK terrorist group will be accused of a terrorist attack on our homeland and we will be required to act upon it. Just sayin.
“Then the US jumps in and says: “We’ll give you $10 billion if you start playing nice again.” “
Well, so far, we haven’t done that yet. In fact, this is arguably the most agressive response we’ve seen to a DPRK provocation is a long time. The ROK shelled the DPKR military base pretty good. The US/ROK war gamed in the Yellow Sea with the GW CAG. The ROK is conducting live fire artillery drills next week in and around the NLL. Japan/US is going forward with large war games next week. The US/ROK are discussing additional war games to take place before the end of the year or early next. The ROK has mobilized additional forces to the 5 Yellow Sea Islands. The US had deployed a few weeks early the Carl Vinson CAG to the region. And for the past week the US/ROK/Japan have told China to go pound sand when asked to come back to the table for talks . . .
Agreed, but this is the first time a hard stance has been put forward. Perhaps we’ve learned our lesson.
Maybe we have, maybe we haven’t. But it looks like for the time being the ROK/Japan/US are trying to break the pattern of behavior. Accordingly, I would not presume a predictable outcome to this current crisis
Makes sense then that the U.S. refused to remove our land mines.
A real deterrant to the norks advancing.
Yes, it is lose-lose...for South Korea. Of course, we would like nothing more than to be rid of the North, but SK will keep making sure they stay alive...and dangerous. Well, it’s all fun and games till someone gets nuked, and the South better hope that’s not us, because that peninsula will glow in the dark for 10,000 years. Assuming we have a real President, of course.
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