Posted on 11/10/2015 5:42:59 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
In unification scenario, stabilization of NK military imperative
[Understanding Unification]
Daily NK | 2015-11-05 13:34
As South Korean President Park Geun Hye asserted, is unification really a bonanza? If there is sufficient state power that can manage what is to come before and after unification as well as uphold the economy despite North Korea’s impoverished economic conditions, then unification is an opportunity. However, bringing together the two Koreas--each cut off from the other for more than half a century--is no simple task. Being hopeful about unification is necessary, but understanding the positive and negative aspects that will come with it is paramount.To this end, Daily NK will deliver a series of selections from the recently published book, “Unification Strategies Under Sudden Changes in North Korea,†co-authored by Kim Young Hwan, head researcher at the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights; Oh Gyeong Seob, researcher at Sejong Institute; and Ryu Jae Gil, secretary general at the Zeitgeist think tank. This 40-installment series seeks to delve deeply and offer fresh insight into pending issues pertaining to unification of the two Koreas.
As South Korean President Park Geun Hye asserted, is unification really a bonanza? If there is sufficient state power that can manage what is to come before and after unification as well as uphold the economy despite North Korea’s impoverished economic conditions, then unification is an opportunity. However, bringing together the two Koreas--each cut off from the other for more than half a century--is no simple task. Being hopeful about unification is necessary, but understanding the positive and negative aspects that will come with it is paramount.
To this end, Daily NK will deliver a series of selections from the recently published book, “Unification Strategies Under Sudden Changes in North Korea,†co-authored by Kim Young Hwan, head researcher at the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights; Oh Gyeong Seob, researcher at Sejong Institute; and Ryu Jae Gil, secretary general at the Zeitgeist think tank. This 40-installment series seeks to delve deeply and offer fresh insight into pending issues pertaining to unification of the two Koreas.
The stabilization of civil society and the North Korea military must be a top priority for the South Korean government after it declares its jurisdiction and martial law over the North Korean region. Stabilization, or pacification, of the military will involve restoring public order, as well as disarming the North Korean military, securing the borders, and transporting and distributing vital goods throughout North Korea. The greater task will be military disarmament. North Korea's current military comprises 1.2 million regulars and 780,000 reserves. Included among the regulars (due to the fact that they have weapons) are 200,000 special forces, 210,000 Ministry of People’s Security forces, 100,000 civilian employees, and between 50,000 and 90,000 State Security Department forces.
The Korean government should deploy its military forces all throughout North Korea after disarming North Korea's military, thereby following the German government’s precedent. DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration) should be the model for pacifying the North Korean military. The last stage, reintegration, will be particularly important. Former soldiers who are unsuccessfully reintegrated have a higher likelihood of joining criminal organizations or rebel forces. Iraq is the best example, as unarmed and discharged Iraqi soldiers who could not find employment subsequently joined anti-US forces.
Professor Bruce Bennett classifies reintegration into integration into the civilian society, into the military, and into public services. Integration into civilian society will only be possible for those who have employable skills and can find employment in the private sectors, for instance, as scientists or engineers. Reintegration for such soldiers will not be very difficult.
Integration into the military means that all active North Korean soldiers must be integrated into the South Korean military. This could include 20% of North Korea's military, and they could be used to support the effort of disarmament, securing military hardware, and fighting rebels and criminals. Integration into the military will further involve military reorganization, selective absorption and retraining of soldiers, maintenance of military bases and equipment, mine removal, and other tasks. The number of those include in this group can be decreased from 20% to 10% in one year, and then to between 3% and 5% in three years. Most conscripted soldiers should be discharged immediately, while professional soldiers and those with long term service should be selectively retained as happened in East Germany.
Integration into public services means to immediately involve them in infrastructure construction and maintenance. Most roads in North Korea have not been paved, and having paved roads will facilitate the movement of personnel and goods.
The success of DDR will also depend on other measures designed to ensure a sufficient living standard for soldiers. Such measures can include education and career services to assist them in achieving independent lives and becoming productive citizens.
Military pacification must be carried out alongside humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, and societal pacification, which are measures aimed at building and maintaining public order. Humanitarian assistance means providing medical and educational assistance, drug addiction treatments. Reconstruction means building institutions that are necessary to a well-functioning society, such as the free market, judiciary, police, customs, and banks, in addition to roads, electrical grid, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Societal pacification means weapon collection, rebel suppression, etc.
The allied US-Korean forces must have one joint aim of stabilizing North Korean society so that the Korean government can fully concentrate on the integration of politics and economy. Initially, the allied forces must confine key members of key institutions and the Workers’ Party, either through prisons or house arrests. After the political system has been integrated, these members must be dealt with by an official truth commission which will operate on the rule of law. The commission will later be examined in greater detail. The Workers’ Party and select state institutions must be disbanded. Nonetheless, mid-low rank Party cadres, as well as state institutions that have not been dismantled, must be allowed to carry on their ordinary functions in order to maintain societal order and prevent its collapse.
P!
When the curtain is peeled back, what they find in north Korea is going to make Auschwitz and Dachau look like boy scout camps.
Did I miss the part where the government of N. Korea collapsed?
Did I miss the part where the government of N. Korea collapsed?
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If you did, I did too. All of the article is one big pipe dream, it would take an all out shooting war and complete and utter destruction of the NORK military and depose or dispose of the little dick tator for reunification to happen.
It also would require massive amounts of U.N. (read U.S.) financial aid to even start to bring the north into the 21st century.
Give North Korea to China. Let them worry about it.
I don’t thin k that’s how Kim Jong Un thinks about “reunification.”
“Did I miss the part where the government of N. Korea collapsed?”
Me three. I don’t see it happening short of total war that brings down North Korea and which China decides is of no interest them, which is NEVER, or the fall of this weird Red Pharaoah dynasty of the Kims. By the trend, they are are becoming more and more loopy. Perhaps the military will stage a coup at some point. Not this year though.
And let them pay for it.
“You broke it.”
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