Posted on 02/18/2003 11:15:46 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo
The Weekly Post Special:
"What Will North Korean Terrorists in Japan Do?"
Part I: Defending Japan from Possible North Korean Terrorist Attacks
Military engagement by Japan's Self-Defense Force (SDF) is strictly limited by the Japanese constitution. If the US attacks Iraq, the Japanese government as an ally of the US is not allowed to send the SDF to provide logistic support nor to participate in the battle.
The only thing the Japanese government can do is support the allied force with food and other materials as well as provide financial assistance.
However, if war with North Korea breaks, it will be totally impossible for the Japanese government to maintain the status quo as it does now. The Japanese will have to prepare for possible missile attacks from North Korea and the massive flow of refugees from North Korea to Japan.
Moreover, several hundred North Korean spies called 'Sleepers,' have already landed in Japan and are hiding across the country. If they make a move, it will tremendously confuse the Japanese people.
Facing the North Korean crisis, the Japanese government has only been emphasizing the importance of diplomatic negotiations with the North Korean government. It has been working with its allies -- South Korea and the US in order to persuade the North Koreans to abandon nuclear weapons. The Japanese government seems to be trying to dodge the menace of North Korea.
Also, the Japanese nation has never been told what will happen to them if North Korean terrorists in Japan put their plan into action.
I-1. Possible Dispatch of SDF
Fukui Prefecture which has 15 nuclear power plants along its 60-kilometer coast line is called the 'Ginza of Nuclear Power Plants.' Ginza is the name of the most popular downtown area in Tokyo.
One of these nuclear power plants is a high-speed breeder reactor called 'Monju' of which operation has been suspended since an accidental radioactivity leak in 1995.
The coast line of Fukui Prefecture is now looming as the lifeline of national security of Japan.
On February 10, 20 key officers of the 10th Division of the Ground Self-Defense Force and 20 field officers in command of the Fukui Prefecture Police Department held a joint meeting at the grand conference room in police headquarters.
They sketched out the defense operation on a map based on the assumption that an armed terrorist group would infiltrate the prefecture and attack the nuclear power plants. The operation on the map involved the anticipation of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Force (SDF) for intercepting the attack by North Korean terrorist groups.
"Our operation on the map was not conducted assuming possible terrorist attacks from any specific countries. We can not disclose any information about the operation," said the Communication Office the Ground SDF.
However, it is certain that their planned operation was done in anticipation of an attack by the North Koreans.
According to a source, their premise for the defense plan was based on the following scenario: Terrorists equipped with rocket guns, machine guns and heavy weapons land in Fukui Prefecture. Based on the assumption that the police force is not capable of containing them, Japan's prime minister orders the SDF to take the field.
Their operation was a simulation test by officers in command as to what divisions would be put in place and how they would move.
The joint agreement between the SDF and Police Department for security purposes had been originally made for the purpose of containing a riot by anti-government demonstrators. However, in 2000, it was revamped for other crises such as the attacks by armed terrorist groups. The Fukui Police Department and the 10th Division of the SDF made this agreement on April 30 of last year.
Police departments of other neighboring prefectures such as Toyama Prefecture and Ishikawa Prefecture on the coast of the Japan Sea have already signed such agreements with the SDF's 10th Division. They are expected to conduct the same simulation tests soon.
I-2. Spy Mission of Man Gyon Bong's Crew
North Korean spies called 'Sleepers' are already in Japan. These spies are living in Japanese society as if they were ordinary Japanese citizens. Once they receive orders from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, they will rise up and terrorize Japan. They are sleeping until they receive such order.
The question is how did they get into Japan in the first place.
Kenki Aoyama, a former North Korean spy in Japan, said to The Weekly Post, "When North Korea attempts to send a spy to Japan, they first identify a Korean who was a member of a North Korean organization in Japan that died young. Then, the intelligence agency secretly replaces him with its spy.
"Another method is, when North Koreans living in Japan visit their mother country as a group, North Korea replaces a member of the group with a spy who looks like him. The spy can infiltrate Japan without any intervention by the Japanese government."
The 'Man Gyon Bong,' a North Korean regular passenger and cargo ship makes 30 roundtrips a year between a North Korean port and Niigata port in Japan. The North Koreans use the ship to visit their country. Also, North Korean schools in Japan use the ship to conduct excursions to North Korea.
The North Korean intelligence has been slipping their spies among the passengers on Man Gyon Bong, according to Mr. Aoki. The North Korean spy who was arrested by the Japanese Police Department last year testified that he was given a written order from Kim Jong Il from an executive of the North Korean Unified Front when he was on board the Man Gyon Bong.
Mr. Aoyama continued, "There are three groups of crew members on Man Gyon Bong. The captain and his assistants are responsible for operating the ship. They are under the control of high-ranked officials of the United Front who have a grip on the operations of North Korean organizations in Japan. When they arrive in Japan, they give orders from Kim Jong Il to the leaders of North Korean organizations in Japan,
"Another group aboard the ship educates North Koreans living in Japan with the philosophy of Kim Jong Il. When the leaders of North Korean organizations in Japan are called to the Man Gyon Bong ship, they are forced to pledge their loyalty to their 'Shogun Kim Jong Il.' If they are taken as unfaithful to Kim Jong Il, they are forced to pledge their faith again to Mr. Kim through cruel self-effacement.
The roles of spies infiltrated into Japan are just like those of 007 in the James Bond movies. Spies are coded in numbers and live in Japan under several fake names. As of two years ago, North Korea had been sending five-digit signals to Japan using the Korean language. The signals could be received by AM radios. Those signals were found to be secret orders from North Korea to 'sleepers.' Recently, those orders were switched to emails. The most important orders are considered to be directly sent to the sleepers through the hands of crew members on Man Gyon Bong.
According to Mr. Aoyama, the missions of the sleepers are divided into two categories. One is spying on Japanese industries and the other is to spy on military facilities of the Japanese SDF (and US bases). Secret information they obtain is sent to North Korea on floppy disc or CD Rom. The Man Gyon Bong carries them to North Korea.
I-3. Additional Man Gyon Bong Ships
In North Korea, there are three organizations sending spies the 'Strategic Unit,' 'Communication Unit' and 'United Front Unit.' They all belong to the North Korean Labor Party.
A spy recently arrested by the Japanese Police Department was found to have been sent by the United Front Unit. A spy the South Korean police captured was sent by the Communication Unit. The Man Gyong Bong ship has been used mainly by the United Front Unit.
According to an investigation by the Japanese law enforcement authority, about 1,200 ships from North Korea entered Japanese ports last year. Japan is the second largest trading country for North Korea followed by China. Those ships brought mainly men's suits or matsutake mushrooms which grow on pine trees. There is a high possibility that there are more ships coming to Japan with missions similar to that of the Man Gyon Bong.
What will North Korean spies in Japan do when they receive orders from their units?
A source of the Japanese law enforcement authority said, "These spies are expected to be hiding near towns next to US and SDF bases in Japan. There is a possibility that some of them are secretly working within those bases as employees. Nuclear power plants are considered to be in the same situation as those of the military bases. The spies may attack those nuclear plants,
"If they attack ports, they may poison drinking water. When they attack airports, they may cut the electricity of the control tower. If the US collides with North Korea and the Japanese government support the US military attack on North Korea, these spies will resort to terrorist attacks on Japan. They may send a threatening letter to the prime minister's residential office notifying them of their attack beforehand and operates other threatening activities in order to cause confusion in Japan. We must prepare for them."
I-4. North Korean Missiles Target Japan
Now, the Japanese Police Departments and SDF are rushing to prepare for attacks by North Korean terrorists in Japan.
Mitsuhiro Suganuma, a former Director of the Japanese Public Safety Investigation Agency, pointed out that the threat of North Korea would be far more dangerous than that of Iraq for the US. He indicated significant vulnerability exists in Japan's defense system. When war with North Korea breaks, Mr. Suganuma expects that Japan will be hit by North Korean mass destruction weapons.
"Missiles are very expensive and valuable weapons for North Korea. US intelligence says that North Korea already possesses nuclear weapons. Whether it may have nuclear weapons or other mass destruction weapons, it will launch a missile targeting Japan, if it can."
Mr. Suganuma also said that the Japanese government would not be able to do anything to defend against an attack by North Korean missiles. According to the defense guideline of the Japanese government, when the first missile hits Japan, the SDF will be sent to deal with the disaster. When the second missile hits, prime minister will order the SDF to take the field. Even if the SDF and Police Departments conduct simulation test against terrorist attacks, they have no guideline to implement it.
Mr. Suganuma continued, "If the North Korean attack us, it will immediately cause a problem of national defense. If a Tepodong missile hits us, the SDF will be dispatched to help the victims. Even for the guerilla attacks, according to the guideline, the Japanese government is not allowed to dispatch the SDF for defense but for reestablishing public order,
"Even if a North Korean spy ship is found, the Japanese law enforcement officers are not allowed to conduct site checks on board the ship. Japanese law prohibits them. The Japanese government has limited itself with its own laws. Japan is a country where the government is not allowed to defend itself. It is a strange constitutional state."
Facing the coming peril of the country, the Japanese Parliament members are conducting unfruitful debates about national security. Japan is good prey for North Korea.
Per my study of this situation in Japan, the Japanese people have been woefully kept in the dark. Combined with poor crisis management skills in Japan from a psychosocial perspective, odd Japanese constitutional and legal provisions that handcuff them even in terms of basic self defense, and a populace more easily exploited for mass panic than perhaps others, these indeed make for rough days ahead.
Our U.S. military bases in Japan (Yokota, Yokosuka, Atsugi, Misawa, Sasebo, Zama, Iwakuni) including thousands of civilian American families, are no doubt in the North Korean attack plans and should be considered under severe threat.
Finally, the American people should also be told and prepared for the fact that American servicemen and women in Japan (as well as others) could also become victims of unparalleled commando acts by agents of North Korea.
By the way, that is one reason why the Germans are cautious with President Bush; he ignores the like occupation army from our south of the border. That lack of attention defies logic, in their minds; why should they help a country which will not help itself?
I see a way out of this: Kim Jong Il would do well to apprise Japan that North Korea is a nation of having 4 seasons. This will do much to clear the air. It's a cultural misunderstanding, you see?
We must STUDY the issue patiently....A consensus must be formed. These things take time.
North Korean Noses are unique, did you hear? And their intenstines are longer --soretomo motto mijikai, ka? We have a whole bevvy of academis who publish about this --it's hard for me to keep track.
The different intestinal length anyway accounts for the need for import controls against importation of Japanse rice.
And skis. Because North Korean snow is UNIQUE. Wait, this will just take a second....
Amazing, porous situation based on naivety if you ask me.
Yes, you are right, young "Japanese" girls staying overnight on these US bases in Japan from trysts on Saturday nite at the NCO could be casing the joint, or planting materials to be activated and used later.
Moreover, several hundred North Korean spies called 'Sleepers,' have already landed in Japan and are hiding across the country. If they make a move, it will tremendously confuse the Japanese people.
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Combined with poor crisis management skills in Japan from a psychosocial perspective, odd Japanese constitutional and legal provisions that handcuff them even in terms of basic self defense, and a populace more easily exploited for mass panic than perhaps others, these indeed make for rough days ahead.
Rough days are here.
Our U.S. military bases in Japan (Yokota, Yokosuka, Atsugi, Misawa, Sasebo, Zama, Iwakuni) including thousands of civilian American families, are no doubt in the North Korean attack plans and should be considered under severe threat.
Finally, the American people should also be told and prepared for the fact that American servicemen and women in Japan (as well as others) could also become victims of unparalleled commando acts by agents of North Korea.
"Rough days ahead" have arrived.
I read somewhere that the NKPA has the largest SOF contingent in the world. I know most of it is akin to what we have in the Army Rangers (aka, big raids on airfields and the like) but the fact is, Japan is probably riddled with these folks, and I am sure some submarine delivered visitors arrived just before the tests. I think when all heck breaks loose, and I think it will soon, we're going to see the NK version of the old Soviet Spetsnaz go to work. God, I hope the Japanese are ready for that. I would not wish that on anyone.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/1996/kpa-guide/part03.htm
Here is where I read the info on that last post. Chilling stuff.
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