Posted on 04/29/2010 12:33:05 PM PDT by mojito
North Korea recently threatened to "mercilessly destroy" its foes. That didn't elicit much reaction abroad. After all, the terms were similar to threats uttered countless times during and since the 1950-53 Korean War.
"Pundits describing the North Korean threat often downplay it because it appears obvious that North Korea's military - despite its large size - is unlikely to be able to unify the peninsula," said Bruce Bechtol, professor of international relations at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and an expert on the North Korean military.
This time, though, the regime added that it might employ its nuclear weapons in the process. And there are other reasons, including a newly reported change in the North's war plans, why outsiders should not assume that the blowhard Kim Jong Il and his generals are all bluff.
"Those who downplay the evolving North Korean military threat do so not at their own peril but that of the Republic of [South] Korea," Bechtel said in an email. The Northerners "have adapted their military - and their military planning - to changing times."
Author of the excellent "Red Rogue: The Persistent Challenge of North Korea," Bechtel was commenting on a Tuesday article in the Seoul daily JoongAng Ilbo. The paper quoted an unnamed high-ranking military source in South Korea as saying the North had relinquished its old plan, in case war should occur, of occupying all of the South within a week.
The North's new war plan...is to quickly grab control of Seoul and the surrounding area just across the border from the North and then decide whether to proceed farther south - or simply stop and negotiate a cease-fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearworld.com ...
Like the lil' dude has no soul, man.
How close is Seoul to the border? I thought it was much further south.
How far is Seoul from the border ?
45 miles ?
Yes, about 40-45 miles.
It’s not far from the border and there are cities like Uijongbu to the north of it.
zer0’s regime has said that we may shoot down Israeli planes if they attack Irans Nuclear production.
why would he protect the evil capitalist South Korea??
Seems like a no brainer and should have been in the plan from the start.Seoul is less than 70 miles from the most hostile border in the world, yet is the nerve center, the cultural, economic, and industrial hub of the peninsula. Why bother to occupy the whole thing? Grab Seoul and the DPRKs have the peninsula by the neck..and eyes on Japan..
I didn’t realize there were people out there that thought NK to be a credible threat. Guess I was wrong. Any idea on the timeline here?
Well it would be cheaper than finishing that one pyramid hotel of his.
Then again Seoul would be destroyed.
Bibi needs a distraction...
Its well within artillery range.
Actually makes sense, during the Korean war the tendency
of his soldiers of all ranks to pillage and loot slowed
up the front once it got deeper into the south. A short
thrust and hold would make more sense. I even read
somewhere that US tactics were changing to no longer hold
the DMZ but to fall back past the capital until reinforcements could be shipped in.
The people are so hungry that they would gladly be marched into South Korea just for the off chance of finding a twinkie.
I see this occupation threat very real.
The plan is probably to drive one of their primitive nukes on a truck down to Seoul.
Kim Jong Il has nothing to lose, really. He’s just about hit bottom in his own country.
Personally, though, I think he should attack the Falkland Islands, instead. That’s what Argentina does, and it works for them....
I remember reading something similar, too. Probably when they were reducing the 2nd ID's troop strength while forcing USFK to figure out how to do their job with fewer resources.
I always wondered what the South Korean Army thought about our change of strategies. Kinda leaves a hole in the line I would think.
No. The plan would be to load their nuke into a freighter & pop it near Okinawa or Guam. Prevents the cavalry from riding to the rescue...
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