ID :
70349
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 16:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/70349
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean attack would be sudden but futile: U.S. general
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. military officer said Tuesday that his
country believes a North Korean offensive on South Korea would come with "very
little notice" if the communist state ever chose to mount one.
"They have an extremely large military that is forward deployed," U.S. Maj. Gen.
Johnny Weida said, noting over two-thirds of North Korea's forces are within 90km
of the border with South Korea.
"They could attack, if they were so inclined, with very little notice," said
Weida, the outgoing deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Weida was speaking to a group of several dozen South Korean civilians taking part
in the USFK-sponsored Executive Orientation Program, which took them on a tour to
the Demilitarized Zone.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53
Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty -- as a deterrent
against the North.
North Korea has in recent months scrapped the truce and warned of war on the
Korean Peninsula, threatening retaliation for a U.N. resolution that toughened
sanctions against Pyongyang for its May 25 nuclear test.
"It is our assessment that, because of their failing economy and limited support
from traditional allies like Russia and China, they could not sustain a major
offensive like they did in the first Korean War," Weida said.
North Korea is considered the world's 4th-largest military power with the largest
special forces unit and artillery units, according to Weida.
It has about 11,000 underground bunkers, along with 8,000 special forces units
and 13,000 artillery guns, Weida said.
"Their attack, however limited, would be extremely destructive to South Korea,"
he said, describing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as "a pretty frail, sick
man."
A South Korean cable news station said this week, quoting unnamed sources, that
Kim appears to be suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last year, and South Korean defense
officials believe he may be stoking tensions to consolidate his regime ahead of a
father-to-son power succession.
"If he miscalculates and attacks South Korea, he and his regime are done," Weida
said, calling such an offensive "extremely unlikely because this guy (Kim) wants
to live."
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. military officer said Tuesday that his
country believes a North Korean offensive on South Korea would come with "very
little notice" if the communist state ever chose to mount one.
"They have an extremely large military that is forward deployed," U.S. Maj. Gen.
Johnny Weida said, noting over two-thirds of North Korea's forces are within 90km
of the border with South Korea.
"They could attack, if they were so inclined, with very little notice," said
Weida, the outgoing deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Weida was speaking to a group of several dozen South Korean civilians taking part
in the USFK-sponsored Executive Orientation Program, which took them on a tour to
the Demilitarized Zone.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53
Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty -- as a deterrent
against the North.
North Korea has in recent months scrapped the truce and warned of war on the
Korean Peninsula, threatening retaliation for a U.N. resolution that toughened
sanctions against Pyongyang for its May 25 nuclear test.
"It is our assessment that, because of their failing economy and limited support
from traditional allies like Russia and China, they could not sustain a major
offensive like they did in the first Korean War," Weida said.
North Korea is considered the world's 4th-largest military power with the largest
special forces unit and artillery units, according to Weida.
It has about 11,000 underground bunkers, along with 8,000 special forces units
and 13,000 artillery guns, Weida said.
"Their attack, however limited, would be extremely destructive to South Korea,"
he said, describing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as "a pretty frail, sick
man."
A South Korean cable news station said this week, quoting unnamed sources, that
Kim appears to be suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last year, and South Korean defense
officials believe he may be stoking tensions to consolidate his regime ahead of a
father-to-son power succession.
"If he miscalculates and attacks South Korea, he and his regime are done," Weida
said, calling such an offensive "extremely unlikely because this guy (Kim) wants
to live."
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
