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
This crap will never end. NK is a perfect example of what happens when we don’t turn third world hell holes into parking lots when we first have the chance.
LLS
I have an idea. How ‘bout we say: “The next time you pull something like this off again, we're going to blow your tincan a$$ into the next millenia.” People around the world seem to hate us anyway, we might as well give them a real reason for it.
Sure. They see him for the one-term loser that he is; there’s a better than acceptable chance that they’ll get what they can while the getting’s good.
I, personally, would certainly NOT want to trust my safety or that of my family to those utter lunatics in North Korea....
For those with NETFLIX instant streaming, last night I saw an excellent documentary having an inside view of what it is like in North Korea. The oppressive dictatorship of Kim Jong-il makes Hitler look like just a tough schoolmarm.
National Geographic - Inside North Korea
“Join National Geographic’s Lisa Ling as she captures a rare look inside North Korea - something few Americans have ever been able to do. Posing as an undercover medical coordinator and closely guarded throughout her trip, Lisa moves inside the most isolated nation in the world, encountering a society completely dominated by government and dictatorship. Glimpse life inside North Korea as you’ve never seen before with personal accounts and powerful footage. Witness first-hand efforts by humanitarians and the challenges they face from the rogue regime.”
I have read somewhere on here from a FReeper that has knowledge that if NK would attack, Seoul would be toast within two hours.
What does NK have in troop strength at the DMZ? 400,000 + ?
Yeah, but Kim’s gotta soak the entire nation to keep himself in Beluga caviar, Remy Martin, and dancing girls.
The entire nation is a looney bin, with all the patients running loose; worse, they have nukes - and one of the most enormous collections of artillery pieces the world has ever seen.
Sweaty palms just thinking about it.
“I have read somewhere on here from a FReeper that has knowledge that if NK would attack, Seoul would be toast within two hours.”
When I was stationed in Korea, we got a briefing on the rocket/artillery situation. Both sides have a ridiculous number pointed at each other...and the civilian population would be severely bloodied.
Seoul is about 25 miles from the border...as far as I know, outside antiquated Soviet rocket and artillery range...so they only have to worry if the Ruskies have given them cruise missiles (but they’re our friends, right :))
I would like to see us execute a leadership decapitation strategy on the norks, take away their nuke toys and give the Chinese a huge refugee problem.
And I’m sure the Chinese will do nothing to prevent that from happening.
The ‘2-hour’ thing is a an exaggeration given the likelihood of accurate South Korean retaliation. While there is a likelihood of widespread casualties, the bigger threat is of panic. The only reason that the US and South Korea have hesitated to touch Pyeongyang since the 90s is that South Korea’s economy would be hit hard in the event of a limited war or even peaceful reunification.
Why bother? Its not like SK will retaliate.
According to recent documents released by Assange, they don't have as much say over NK as we (in the public) thought.
Rule Number one when trying to understand China- they are the foremost exponents of Sun Tzu’s strategy of deception. Only an idiot would think that North Korea would piss them off.
However, China's leash, according to our own diplomatic corps, isn't on NK that tight.
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