It's hard to say. I mean, what is "normal" anymore ? But 2 carrier groups in each Pacific AO isn't too weird. That still leaves the Harry Truman sitting in Norfolk to guard the Atlantic in case the British decide to invade again.
WAR Korea Watch: 12/20 - 12/27 2010
- Thread starter Jeffrey Thomason
- Start date
It's hard to say. I mean, what is "normal" anymore ? But 2 carrier groups in each Pacific AO isn't too weird. That still leaves the Harry Truman sitting in Norfolk to guard the Atlantic in case the British decide to invade again.
Jeffrey Thomason
Inactive
The rumor of Hillary stepping down as SecState may or may not be related: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=375723
Two articles from Yonhap. In the first, the U.S. rep for the meeting was thought to be Dep. Sec. of State. Instead, it turns out to be Gates, SecDef. That puts a whole different spin on these upcoming talks.
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/27/62/0301000000AEN20101227007400315F.HTML
"2010/12/27 18:39 KST
Top U.S. official expected to visit Seoul ahead of U.S.-China summit: source
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. official is expected to visit Seoul early next month to coordinate the country's North Korea policy with South Korea ahead of a summit between the U.S. and Chinese presidents, a diplomatic source said Monday.
"There will be an exchange of views on the conditions for the resumption of the six-party talks," the source said on condition of anonymity, referring to the stalled talks aimed at denuclearizing the North in return for giving economic and political benefits.
The official is likely to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, the source said..."
AND
From:http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/new...01228000500315.HTML?CSRT=17673215369760506048
"2010/12/28 07:34 KST
Gates due in Seoul on N. Korean provocations: Pentagon
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit South Korea next month to discuss enhancing the alliance with South Korea, the Pentagon said Monday.
Gates will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin while in Seoul on Jan. 14, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said, adding they will discuss ways to "address the threats posed by North Korean provocations and its nuclear and missile programs."
The chief U.S. defense official will also travel to Beijing and Tokyo, Morrell said."
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/27/62/0301000000AEN20101227007400315F.HTML
"2010/12/27 18:39 KST
Top U.S. official expected to visit Seoul ahead of U.S.-China summit: source
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. official is expected to visit Seoul early next month to coordinate the country's North Korea policy with South Korea ahead of a summit between the U.S. and Chinese presidents, a diplomatic source said Monday.
"There will be an exchange of views on the conditions for the resumption of the six-party talks," the source said on condition of anonymity, referring to the stalled talks aimed at denuclearizing the North in return for giving economic and political benefits.
The official is likely to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, the source said..."
AND
From:http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/new...01228000500315.HTML?CSRT=17673215369760506048
"2010/12/28 07:34 KST
Gates due in Seoul on N. Korean provocations: Pentagon
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit South Korea next month to discuss enhancing the alliance with South Korea, the Pentagon said Monday.
Gates will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin while in Seoul on Jan. 14, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said, adding they will discuss ways to "address the threats posed by North Korean provocations and its nuclear and missile programs."
The chief U.S. defense official will also travel to Beijing and Tokyo, Morrell said."
Suggests we will be framing our conditions for resumption of 6 party talks in terms of security and defense, rather than pleasantries and promises.
One South Korean major let out of a Chinese jail and expelled for the return of 3 Chinese fishermen let out of jail and returned to China. I bet both sides are satisfied. Such is diplomacy.
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2010/12/28/0200000000AEN20101228001500315.HTML
"2010/12/28 09:45 KST
China expels S. Korean Army major on espionage charges
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean Army major was expelled by Chinese authorities this year after more than a year of post-trial detention for collecting information on North Korea, military officials here said Tuesday.
The officer, whose identity was withheld, was arrested by Chinese security police in July last year in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang and sentenced to a three-year jail term by a Chinese court for alleged espionage, the officials said. "
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2010/12/28/0200000000AEN20101228001500315.HTML
"2010/12/28 09:45 KST
China expels S. Korean Army major on espionage charges
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean Army major was expelled by Chinese authorities this year after more than a year of post-trial detention for collecting information on North Korea, military officials here said Tuesday.
The officer, whose identity was withheld, was arrested by Chinese security police in July last year in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang and sentenced to a three-year jail term by a Chinese court for alleged espionage, the officials said. "
A little OT, as it concerns Japan and China, but definitely part of the bigger picture.
From: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012270245.html
"China ratcheting up pressure in the air
BY YOICHI KATO NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT
2010/12/28
Japanese officials, already concerned about China's growing naval presence in the region, say Chinese military aircraft have started harassing Japanese Self-Defense Forces' aircraft over the East China Sea.
Ever since the September collision between a Chinese trawler and two Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Chinese military aircraft have started to approach SDF aircraft close enough to identify with the naked eye, sources said.
Along with this new behavior since October, China's air activities against Japan have been substantially stepped up since earlier this year. The number of scrambles that the Air SDF has launched against Chinese aircraft since the beginning of this fiscal year had already reached 44 as of Dec. 22, according to the Defense Ministry.
The figure is the highest in the past five years.
The Maritime SDF has been deploying EP-3 signal intelligence reconnaissance aircraft on top of P-3C patrol aircraft to the airspace northwest of the Nansei island chain on an almost daily basis to monitor Chinese air and naval activities in the area.
The Air SDF routinely intercepts electronic signals with its signal intelligence aircraft.
These reconnaissance aircraft fly within Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and around the median line between Japan and China. Because the ADIZ is not the same as territorial airspace, foreign aircraft flying into the zone are not considered to be violating airspace. But failure to notify authorities beforehand about a flight into the zone inevitably leads to aircraft being scrambled.
Until recently, Chinese fighter jets and fighter-bombers had tended to avoid entering Japan's ADIZ. But that changed in October, a month after the Senkaku Islands incident that triggered a major diplomatic row between the two countries.
In October, a JH-7 fighter-bomber of the Chinese Navy not only entered Japan's ADIZ, but also flew past the median line and approached close enough to make a visual identification of the SDF aircraft. Japan considers the median line as marking the boundary of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
When SDF aircraft were scrambled, the Chinese aircraft turned around and went back. The two nations are scrambling their aircraft in response to what the other side is doing.
One military insider pointed out that this could lead to a dangerous situation.
"Chinese military pilots are less skilled than Japanese and American pilots and they fly erratically at times," said one official.
There is concern that frequent scrambles could escalate into a major incident like the one in 2001 when a U.S. Navy EP-3 collided in midair with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea, leading to the death of the Chinese pilot.
Chinese aircraft have also become much more bold in their surveillance of Japan's aircraft.
On Dec. 7, during the "Keen Sword" joint military exercise between Japan and the United States, F-15 fighter jets scrambled out of Naha Air Base because an unidentified aircraft was approaching the ADIZ. It eventually entered the ADIZ and flew along the Japan-China median line.
The ASDF fighter pilots visually confirmed that it was a Chinese Navy Y-8X maritime patrol aircraft and returned to the base.
On March 12, a Y-8 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft for the first time flew past the median line and approached near Japan.
There is speculation that the range of land-based radars along China's coast line facing the East China Sea extends only as far as the median line. However, if an AEW aircraft with a powerful radar system aboard should approach Japan by flying past the median line, Chinese military aircraft theoretically could expand their range of operations to the entire Nansei island chain, including the main Okinawa island.
As of Dec. 22, SDF aircraft had been scrambled 44 times against Chinese aircraft this fiscal year, according to Defense Ministry officials. The figure is already double that for all of fiscal 2006.
One reason for the change in China's policy is evident from a report in a military organ, which said that "Beijing did not consider its EEZ to be part of international waters."
Based on that logic, the report criticized the activity of U.S. military aircraft in the skies over China's EEZ, a sign that the Chinese military is eager to limit such activities."
From: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012270245.html
"China ratcheting up pressure in the air
BY YOICHI KATO NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT
2010/12/28
Japanese officials, already concerned about China's growing naval presence in the region, say Chinese military aircraft have started harassing Japanese Self-Defense Forces' aircraft over the East China Sea.
Ever since the September collision between a Chinese trawler and two Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Chinese military aircraft have started to approach SDF aircraft close enough to identify with the naked eye, sources said.
Along with this new behavior since October, China's air activities against Japan have been substantially stepped up since earlier this year. The number of scrambles that the Air SDF has launched against Chinese aircraft since the beginning of this fiscal year had already reached 44 as of Dec. 22, according to the Defense Ministry.
The figure is the highest in the past five years.
The Maritime SDF has been deploying EP-3 signal intelligence reconnaissance aircraft on top of P-3C patrol aircraft to the airspace northwest of the Nansei island chain on an almost daily basis to monitor Chinese air and naval activities in the area.
The Air SDF routinely intercepts electronic signals with its signal intelligence aircraft.
These reconnaissance aircraft fly within Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and around the median line between Japan and China. Because the ADIZ is not the same as territorial airspace, foreign aircraft flying into the zone are not considered to be violating airspace. But failure to notify authorities beforehand about a flight into the zone inevitably leads to aircraft being scrambled.
Until recently, Chinese fighter jets and fighter-bombers had tended to avoid entering Japan's ADIZ. But that changed in October, a month after the Senkaku Islands incident that triggered a major diplomatic row between the two countries.
In October, a JH-7 fighter-bomber of the Chinese Navy not only entered Japan's ADIZ, but also flew past the median line and approached close enough to make a visual identification of the SDF aircraft. Japan considers the median line as marking the boundary of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
When SDF aircraft were scrambled, the Chinese aircraft turned around and went back. The two nations are scrambling their aircraft in response to what the other side is doing.
One military insider pointed out that this could lead to a dangerous situation.
"Chinese military pilots are less skilled than Japanese and American pilots and they fly erratically at times," said one official.
There is concern that frequent scrambles could escalate into a major incident like the one in 2001 when a U.S. Navy EP-3 collided in midair with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea, leading to the death of the Chinese pilot.
Chinese aircraft have also become much more bold in their surveillance of Japan's aircraft.
On Dec. 7, during the "Keen Sword" joint military exercise between Japan and the United States, F-15 fighter jets scrambled out of Naha Air Base because an unidentified aircraft was approaching the ADIZ. It eventually entered the ADIZ and flew along the Japan-China median line.
The ASDF fighter pilots visually confirmed that it was a Chinese Navy Y-8X maritime patrol aircraft and returned to the base.
On March 12, a Y-8 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft for the first time flew past the median line and approached near Japan.
There is speculation that the range of land-based radars along China's coast line facing the East China Sea extends only as far as the median line. However, if an AEW aircraft with a powerful radar system aboard should approach Japan by flying past the median line, Chinese military aircraft theoretically could expand their range of operations to the entire Nansei island chain, including the main Okinawa island.
As of Dec. 22, SDF aircraft had been scrambled 44 times against Chinese aircraft this fiscal year, according to Defense Ministry officials. The figure is already double that for all of fiscal 2006.
One reason for the change in China's policy is evident from a report in a military organ, which said that "Beijing did not consider its EEZ to be part of international waters."
Based on that logic, the report criticized the activity of U.S. military aircraft in the skies over China's EEZ, a sign that the Chinese military is eager to limit such activities."
This is interesting.
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/28/90/0301000000AEN20101228003000315F.HTML
"2010/12/28 11:15 KST
N. Korean special forces dressed in S. Korean uniforms
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- Some of North Korean special forces stationed at the border with South Korea have dressed up in military uniforms with the same camouflage pattern as South Korean soldiers' uniforms, a military source here said Tuesday.
The North's tactic, confirmed by the South's military for the first time this year, is believed to be intended to effectively confuse South Korean troops as the special forces have held drills to hone their ability to infiltrate the South, the source said on condition of anonymity.
"It was confirmed, for the first time this year, that North Korean troops at the front-line land border are wearing uniforms with the same woodland camouflage pattern (as South Korean troops)," the source said.
"Our judgment is that the North's special forces stationed there are staging drills for intrusion by wearing the uniforms."
South Korea's military has been developing a new combat uniform with digital camouflage since 2008. It has already been supplied to the South's special warfare forces and will be distributed from next July to other troops.
The South's military is now considering distributing the new uniform earlier than scheduled, in line with the North's move, the source said.
The North is believed to have some 200,000 special forces, an 11 percent increase from two years earlier, according to data by the South's defense ministry. Of them, the North is believed to have completed deployment of some 50,000 troops along the border with the South.
The North's bolstering of its special warfare capabilities means that the country intends to send such troops deep into South Korea to conduct a variety of attacks in case of conflicts, defense ministry officials said..."
From: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/28/90/0301000000AEN20101228003000315F.HTML
"2010/12/28 11:15 KST
N. Korean special forces dressed in S. Korean uniforms
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- Some of North Korean special forces stationed at the border with South Korea have dressed up in military uniforms with the same camouflage pattern as South Korean soldiers' uniforms, a military source here said Tuesday.
The North's tactic, confirmed by the South's military for the first time this year, is believed to be intended to effectively confuse South Korean troops as the special forces have held drills to hone their ability to infiltrate the South, the source said on condition of anonymity.
"It was confirmed, for the first time this year, that North Korean troops at the front-line land border are wearing uniforms with the same woodland camouflage pattern (as South Korean troops)," the source said.
"Our judgment is that the North's special forces stationed there are staging drills for intrusion by wearing the uniforms."
South Korea's military has been developing a new combat uniform with digital camouflage since 2008. It has already been supplied to the South's special warfare forces and will be distributed from next July to other troops.
The South's military is now considering distributing the new uniform earlier than scheduled, in line with the North's move, the source said.
The North is believed to have some 200,000 special forces, an 11 percent increase from two years earlier, according to data by the South's defense ministry. Of them, the North is believed to have completed deployment of some 50,000 troops along the border with the South.
The North's bolstering of its special warfare capabilities means that the country intends to send such troops deep into South Korea to conduct a variety of attacks in case of conflicts, defense ministry officials said..."
China Connection
TB Fanatic
N.Korean troops' new uniform alarms S.Korea
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.081ed8ef951580bf2ea69716935b211d.921
SEOUL — Some North Korean troops stationed along the border have donned a camouflage uniform similar to that worn by South Koreans, apparently to practise intrusion drills, a defence ministry official said Tuesday.
The move prompted the South to advance the supply of new uniforms for its own troops to avoid confusion, the official told journalists in a background briefing.
"It's been confirmed some North Korean frontline troops are wearing uniforms with woodland camouflage pattern which is similar to those of South Korean uniforms," the official said.
"Our judgment is that the North's special forces stationed there are staging intrusion drills wearing the uniforms."
The South's military has begun supplying new "digital camouflage" uniforms and is considering speeding up the distribution following the North's move.
The North is believed to have some 200,000 special forces and to have deployed some 50,000 of them along the border with the South, the ministry said.
Tensions are high following the North's shelling last month of a South Korean border island, which killed four people including civilians. The South's forces are on alert for any fresh attacks.
China is getting tougher with South Korean spies caught collecting intelligence there on North Korea, jailing one of them for more than a year despite pleas from Seoul, news reports said Tuesday.
The army major had been trying to collect information on the North's nuclear and missile programmes when he was caught in July last year in a sting operation, Yonhap news agency and the Korea JoongAng Daily said.
A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment.
The newspaper said the man it identified as Major Cho was arrested in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang following a rendezvous with a Chinese military officer posing as an informant.
Cho gave tens of thousands of dollars to the Chinese officer for information about the North's nuclear development and missiles, it said. He was jailed for 14 months despite the South's request that he be repatriated.
A captured agent is usually released and repatriated after his home country promises in writing to prevent a recurrence, the Korea Joongang Daily said.
Cho's imprisonment also caused unrest among South Korean intelligence agents because he was repatriated along with South Korean criminals who had been arrested for robbery or fraud, it said.
The paper quoted intelligence officials as saying Cho may have been treated in a tougher fashion than normal because he was arrested at a sensitive time, just after the North's second nuclear test in May 2009.
China is the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline.
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.081ed8ef951580bf2ea69716935b211d.921
SEOUL — Some North Korean troops stationed along the border have donned a camouflage uniform similar to that worn by South Koreans, apparently to practise intrusion drills, a defence ministry official said Tuesday.
The move prompted the South to advance the supply of new uniforms for its own troops to avoid confusion, the official told journalists in a background briefing.
"It's been confirmed some North Korean frontline troops are wearing uniforms with woodland camouflage pattern which is similar to those of South Korean uniforms," the official said.
"Our judgment is that the North's special forces stationed there are staging intrusion drills wearing the uniforms."
The South's military has begun supplying new "digital camouflage" uniforms and is considering speeding up the distribution following the North's move.
The North is believed to have some 200,000 special forces and to have deployed some 50,000 of them along the border with the South, the ministry said.
Tensions are high following the North's shelling last month of a South Korean border island, which killed four people including civilians. The South's forces are on alert for any fresh attacks.
China is getting tougher with South Korean spies caught collecting intelligence there on North Korea, jailing one of them for more than a year despite pleas from Seoul, news reports said Tuesday.
The army major had been trying to collect information on the North's nuclear and missile programmes when he was caught in July last year in a sting operation, Yonhap news agency and the Korea JoongAng Daily said.
A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment.
The newspaper said the man it identified as Major Cho was arrested in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang following a rendezvous with a Chinese military officer posing as an informant.
Cho gave tens of thousands of dollars to the Chinese officer for information about the North's nuclear development and missiles, it said. He was jailed for 14 months despite the South's request that he be repatriated.
A captured agent is usually released and repatriated after his home country promises in writing to prevent a recurrence, the Korea Joongang Daily said.
Cho's imprisonment also caused unrest among South Korean intelligence agents because he was repatriated along with South Korean criminals who had been arrested for robbery or fraud, it said.
The paper quoted intelligence officials as saying Cho may have been treated in a tougher fashion than normal because he was arrested at a sensitive time, just after the North's second nuclear test in May 2009.
China is the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline.
China Connection
TB Fanatic
'N. Korea warns of less restraint to S. Korea's military drills'
From ANI
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/416364.php
Tehran, Dec 28: North Korea has slammed South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's comments of retaliation against Pyongyang if provoked, saying that DPRK has limited restraint over Seoul's military provocation and it will punish the south if it does not stop its drills.
The China Daily quoted North Korea's official daily, Rodong Sinmun, as saying that the US and South Korea have been staging repeated anti-DPRK drills.
On Monday, Myung-bak had threatened his nation would not shy away from defending itself against the North, even if it meant the possibility of war.
"We have now been awakened to the realization that war can be prevented and peace assured only when such provocations are met with a strong response," he had said.
Tensions have remained high on the Korean Peninsula since a North Korean artillery barrage of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island last month, which killed four people, including two civilians.
Later the South had held a series of military drills apparently intended to show the North that it was ready to strike back forcefully if provoked again. It is scheduled to hold its latest maritime firing drill from Monday to Friday in waters off the country's west, south, and east coasts, but no drills are scheduled near the disputed western sea border with the North.
Copyright Asian News International/DailyIndia.com
Currently trending: Cricket, Michael Clarke, David Beckham, Shane Warne, Lindsay Lohan, Wayne Rooney, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga, Shahid Afridi, Mumbai
From ANI
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/416364.php
Tehran, Dec 28: North Korea has slammed South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's comments of retaliation against Pyongyang if provoked, saying that DPRK has limited restraint over Seoul's military provocation and it will punish the south if it does not stop its drills.
The China Daily quoted North Korea's official daily, Rodong Sinmun, as saying that the US and South Korea have been staging repeated anti-DPRK drills.
On Monday, Myung-bak had threatened his nation would not shy away from defending itself against the North, even if it meant the possibility of war.
"We have now been awakened to the realization that war can be prevented and peace assured only when such provocations are met with a strong response," he had said.
Tensions have remained high on the Korean Peninsula since a North Korean artillery barrage of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island last month, which killed four people, including two civilians.
Later the South had held a series of military drills apparently intended to show the North that it was ready to strike back forcefully if provoked again. It is scheduled to hold its latest maritime firing drill from Monday to Friday in waters off the country's west, south, and east coasts, but no drills are scheduled near the disputed western sea border with the North.
Copyright Asian News International/DailyIndia.com
Currently trending: Cricket, Michael Clarke, David Beckham, Shane Warne, Lindsay Lohan, Wayne Rooney, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga, Shahid Afridi, Mumbai
China Connection
TB Fanatic
U.S. not to redeploy tactical nukes in S. Korea: expert
By Hwang Doo-hyong
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/28/13/0301000000AEN20101228000100315F.HTML
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- The United States does not have any interest in redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea due to the enhanced mobility of its weapons system and the South Korean public's antipathy toward nuclear weapons, a scholar said Monday.
"In an age of jet aircraft and intercontinental missiles, we don't need to forward-deploy nuclear weapons," Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative at the New America Foundation, said in a contribution to the Web site of "38 North," specializing in North Korean affairs. "Putting U.S. nuclear weapons back into South Korea is a dumb idea."
Last month, then-South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said he would consider discussing with the U.S. redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons back in South Korea, where all U.S. nuclear weapons were removed in 1991.
The removal took place as South Korea and North Korea signed an agreement calling for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean rapprochement. The U.S. then withdrew its global forward deployment strategy.
Kim's remarks were quickly withdrawn by the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dea, and the Defense Ministry, but spawned heated debate on the issue. Nuclear-armed North Korea has made a series of provocations in recent months, including the sinking of South Korean warship and shelling of an island near the western sea border and made repeated threats of a nuclear war.
North Korea last month revealed a uranium enrichment plant aside from its existing plutonium-based nuclear weapons program, a second way of making nuclear bombs despite its claim not to produce highly enriched uranium for bombs but to make low enrichment uranium to fuel a light-water reactor being built for electricity.
Lewis took note of the Bush administration's pledge to "deploy nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles aboard attack submarines" and the Obama administration's commitment to "making a new fighter, the F-35, nuclear-capable and keeping the ability to forward deploy nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to Guam."
"The United States Air Force has absolutely zero interest in forward deploying tactical nuclear weapons," the scholar said. "Ask any Air Force officer about the 180 gravity bombs the United States still keeps in Europe. He'll tell you that they should have gone home years ago. South Korea doesn't have the facilities to handle forward-deployed gravity bombs and a U.S. support unit would need to be established and deployed."
Lewis also noted the South Korean public "remains ambivalent about South Korea's close relationship with the United States."
"South Korea is a vibrant democracy, which is a good thing," he said. "That vibrance, however, often expresses itself in the form of riots, sometimes directed at the United States and its military forces stationed in South Korea."
Lewis said any redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea would be dumber than allowing Seoul to have its own nuclear weapons.
"Why not let South Korea have some totally useless nuclear weapons?" he asked. "As manifestly stupid ideas go, is it any dumber than the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey with no evident means of delivering them?"
The U.S. maintains a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea that bans Seoul from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel for fear of Seoul making nuclear bombs.
Late South Korean President Park Chung-hee sought a clandestine project for the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970s to cope with military threats from the North after the U.S. took steps to reduce its troops in Korea.
Park's ambitions were thwarted by the U.S., which successfully pressured France and Canada to refrain from helping South Korea build nuclear reactors capable of producing weapons-grade material.
The aborted South Korean program was described in a report by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in March.
"This initial effort was halted, however, after the 1974 Indian 'peaceful' nuclear test prompted the United States to turn against the spread of reprocessing technologies and after revelations that the then-military government of Korea was planning to develop nuclear weapons or, at least, acquire the technology and capability to do so on short notice," the report said.
A report of the U.S. Joint Forces Command said in February, "Several friends or allies of the United States, such as Japan and South Korea, are highly advanced technological states and could quickly build nuclear devices if they chose to do so."
hdh@yna.co.kr
By Hwang Doo-hyong
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/28/13/0301000000AEN20101228000100315F.HTML
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- The United States does not have any interest in redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea due to the enhanced mobility of its weapons system and the South Korean public's antipathy toward nuclear weapons, a scholar said Monday.
"In an age of jet aircraft and intercontinental missiles, we don't need to forward-deploy nuclear weapons," Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative at the New America Foundation, said in a contribution to the Web site of "38 North," specializing in North Korean affairs. "Putting U.S. nuclear weapons back into South Korea is a dumb idea."
Last month, then-South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said he would consider discussing with the U.S. redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons back in South Korea, where all U.S. nuclear weapons were removed in 1991.
The removal took place as South Korea and North Korea signed an agreement calling for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean rapprochement. The U.S. then withdrew its global forward deployment strategy.
Kim's remarks were quickly withdrawn by the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dea, and the Defense Ministry, but spawned heated debate on the issue. Nuclear-armed North Korea has made a series of provocations in recent months, including the sinking of South Korean warship and shelling of an island near the western sea border and made repeated threats of a nuclear war.
North Korea last month revealed a uranium enrichment plant aside from its existing plutonium-based nuclear weapons program, a second way of making nuclear bombs despite its claim not to produce highly enriched uranium for bombs but to make low enrichment uranium to fuel a light-water reactor being built for electricity.
Lewis took note of the Bush administration's pledge to "deploy nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles aboard attack submarines" and the Obama administration's commitment to "making a new fighter, the F-35, nuclear-capable and keeping the ability to forward deploy nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to Guam."
"The United States Air Force has absolutely zero interest in forward deploying tactical nuclear weapons," the scholar said. "Ask any Air Force officer about the 180 gravity bombs the United States still keeps in Europe. He'll tell you that they should have gone home years ago. South Korea doesn't have the facilities to handle forward-deployed gravity bombs and a U.S. support unit would need to be established and deployed."
Lewis also noted the South Korean public "remains ambivalent about South Korea's close relationship with the United States."
"South Korea is a vibrant democracy, which is a good thing," he said. "That vibrance, however, often expresses itself in the form of riots, sometimes directed at the United States and its military forces stationed in South Korea."
Lewis said any redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea would be dumber than allowing Seoul to have its own nuclear weapons.
"Why not let South Korea have some totally useless nuclear weapons?" he asked. "As manifestly stupid ideas go, is it any dumber than the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey with no evident means of delivering them?"
The U.S. maintains a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea that bans Seoul from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel for fear of Seoul making nuclear bombs.
Late South Korean President Park Chung-hee sought a clandestine project for the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970s to cope with military threats from the North after the U.S. took steps to reduce its troops in Korea.
Park's ambitions were thwarted by the U.S., which successfully pressured France and Canada to refrain from helping South Korea build nuclear reactors capable of producing weapons-grade material.
The aborted South Korean program was described in a report by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in March.
"This initial effort was halted, however, after the 1974 Indian 'peaceful' nuclear test prompted the United States to turn against the spread of reprocessing technologies and after revelations that the then-military government of Korea was planning to develop nuclear weapons or, at least, acquire the technology and capability to do so on short notice," the report said.
A report of the U.S. Joint Forces Command said in February, "Several friends or allies of the United States, such as Japan and South Korea, are highly advanced technological states and could quickly build nuclear devices if they chose to do so."
hdh@yna.co.kr
China Connection
TB Fanatic
N.Korea 'Has 180,000 Special Forces Ready to Cross into South'
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/06/16/2010061601318.html
North Korea operates 40,000 special forces troops, including the 11th or "Storm" Corps whose mission is to infiltrate South Korea and create havoc in case of war. It also has around 10,000 naval special forces and around 5,000 air force soldiers who can cross the border if a war breaks out.
The figures were revealed in a speech by former South Korean commander of special operations Kim Yun-suk to fellow veterans at the War Memorial in Seoul.
Kim said the Storm Corps, which has been trained to stir up confusion behind enemy lines, is composed of four light infantry, seven airborne and three sniper brigades. And the 4th Corps special forces, stationed on the Ongjin Peninsula close to South Korea's Baeknyeong Islands in the West Sea, consists of 600 scout troops, 600 naval reconnaissance soldiers and around 1,800 naval forces.
The North also operates a large amphibious landing force in the region similar to South Korea's Marines. Totaling 180,000 troops, North Korea has the largest number of special ops forces in the world. The 11th Corps accounts for 22 percent with 40,000 special forces troops, and 120,000 light infantry brigades make up 66 percent of the special forces. The reconnaissance brigade, which has been fingered in the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, accounts for around 6 percent of special forces, and the Navy and Air Force each have around 5,000 crack troops, which make up 3 percent.
"Ten thousand North Korean special forces are capable of infiltrating simultaneously through underground tunnels or aboard 260 hovercraft or submarines, while 175 AN-2 transport planes and 310 helicopters can transport another 10,000 troops," Kim said.
The former officer said the South needs to come up with measures to deal with the so-called asymmetric threat by creating a powerful special forces brigade, operating a special military branch that handles North Korea's irregular forces and boosting the number of anti-terrorism units and training.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/06/16/2010061601318.html
North Korea operates 40,000 special forces troops, including the 11th or "Storm" Corps whose mission is to infiltrate South Korea and create havoc in case of war. It also has around 10,000 naval special forces and around 5,000 air force soldiers who can cross the border if a war breaks out.
The figures were revealed in a speech by former South Korean commander of special operations Kim Yun-suk to fellow veterans at the War Memorial in Seoul.
Kim said the Storm Corps, which has been trained to stir up confusion behind enemy lines, is composed of four light infantry, seven airborne and three sniper brigades. And the 4th Corps special forces, stationed on the Ongjin Peninsula close to South Korea's Baeknyeong Islands in the West Sea, consists of 600 scout troops, 600 naval reconnaissance soldiers and around 1,800 naval forces.
The North also operates a large amphibious landing force in the region similar to South Korea's Marines. Totaling 180,000 troops, North Korea has the largest number of special ops forces in the world. The 11th Corps accounts for 22 percent with 40,000 special forces troops, and 120,000 light infantry brigades make up 66 percent of the special forces. The reconnaissance brigade, which has been fingered in the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, accounts for around 6 percent of special forces, and the Navy and Air Force each have around 5,000 crack troops, which make up 3 percent.
"Ten thousand North Korean special forces are capable of infiltrating simultaneously through underground tunnels or aboard 260 hovercraft or submarines, while 175 AN-2 transport planes and 310 helicopters can transport another 10,000 troops," Kim said.
The former officer said the South needs to come up with measures to deal with the so-called asymmetric threat by creating a powerful special forces brigade, operating a special military branch that handles North Korea's irregular forces and boosting the number of anti-terrorism units and training.
China Connection
TB Fanatic
N.Korea's Stealth Warfare Manual Revealed
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/08/23/2010082300450.html
The North Korean military has developed various kinds of camouflage materials like stealth paint and set up fake facilities and equipment to cheat state-of-the-art reconnaissance satellites and aircraft, a confidential field manual obtained exclusively by the Chosun Ilbo shows.
The manual was smuggled out of the North by a source through a Christian organization called Caleb Mission.
So far information about the North Korean military's camouflage tactics trickled out only piecemeal through testimonies of North Korean defectors, but this is the first time a confidential military field manual with details has been revealed.
The manual, printed in 2005, quotes leader Kim Jong-il as saying, "As I've said several times, modern warfare is stealth warfare. We can say that victory or defeat will be determined by how we carry out stealth warfare."
The 80-odd-page booklet gives detailed instructions on how to make and apply stealth paint that absorbs radar waves and build various kinds of fake facilities, such as command posts, foxholes, runways, fighter jet and naval bases, and cave strongholds.
The manual also describes how to conceal real facilities or equipment and to make military units look as though they are moving when they are not to deceive South Korean and U.S. reconnaissance.
A South Korean intelligence expert who reviewed the manual said, "I was surprised to find that the North Korean military has done more intensive and careful research into stealth tactics than we thought. This is a useful piece of information that will be of great help to our military stepping up preparedness against the North."
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/08/23/2010082300450.html
The North Korean military has developed various kinds of camouflage materials like stealth paint and set up fake facilities and equipment to cheat state-of-the-art reconnaissance satellites and aircraft, a confidential field manual obtained exclusively by the Chosun Ilbo shows.
The manual was smuggled out of the North by a source through a Christian organization called Caleb Mission.
So far information about the North Korean military's camouflage tactics trickled out only piecemeal through testimonies of North Korean defectors, but this is the first time a confidential military field manual with details has been revealed.
The manual, printed in 2005, quotes leader Kim Jong-il as saying, "As I've said several times, modern warfare is stealth warfare. We can say that victory or defeat will be determined by how we carry out stealth warfare."
The 80-odd-page booklet gives detailed instructions on how to make and apply stealth paint that absorbs radar waves and build various kinds of fake facilities, such as command posts, foxholes, runways, fighter jet and naval bases, and cave strongholds.
The manual also describes how to conceal real facilities or equipment and to make military units look as though they are moving when they are not to deceive South Korean and U.S. reconnaissance.
A South Korean intelligence expert who reviewed the manual said, "I was surprised to find that the North Korean military has done more intensive and careful research into stealth tactics than we thought. This is a useful piece of information that will be of great help to our military stepping up preparedness against the North."
China Connection
TB Fanatic
New Threat from N.Korea's 'Asymmetrical' Warfare
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/29/2010042901362.html
North Korea has over the last 10 to 20 years been developing what is called an "asymmetric strategy," which involves focusing on areas, however small, where South Korea is inferior to the North or lacking altogether. One part of this strategy is submarines. The North is believed to have a fleet of around 70 submarines, including some 20 1,830-t Romeo-class subs and 20 330-t Shark-class subs.
The subs had been considered only a minor threat, due to their age, noisy engines and inability to operate in the shallow coastal waters of the West Sea. But the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan could radically change that perception.
There are growing concerns in the South Korean military that its anti-submarine warfare capabilities may not be up to the challenge. The South Korean Navy's battleships, 10 submarines and P-3C Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft can detect subs, but there is considerable skepticism about their ability to incapacitate the entire North Korean submarine fleet. Former South Korean defense minister Kim Jang-soo said recently that he heard the military is capable of detecting less than 50 percent of North Korean submarines.
Another area that needs improvement is the ability of South Korean naval ships to deal with mines. A U.S. military official reportedly said early last year the South needs to drastically strengthen its ability to combat mines. The fact that a mine was initially considered the most likely cause of the sinking of the Cheonan demonstrates the Navy's apparent weakness in detecting and defusing mines.
North Korea's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as well as its ballistic missiles are another key component of its asymmetric strategy. The communist country is believed to have six to eight nuclear weapons similar in strength to the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. It is also believed to have between 2,000 to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, making it the world's third largest arsenal. It has around 10 different types of biological weapons as well. A thousand tons of chemical weapons is believed to be enough to kill 40 million people on the Korean Peninsula.
Around 350 long-range North Korean artillery pieces including 170-mm self-propelled howitzers and 240-mm multiple rocket launchers are lined up on the border and trained at Seoul and other South Korean cities, while 1,000 ballistic missiles, including 350 Scud and Rodong missiles, also pose a huge threat. If North Korea unleashes its artillery shells over the border, 100,000 Seoul residents could be killed or injured in just an hour.
North Korea also has around 180,000 special forces troops, the largest contingent in the world, who are constantly ready to be deployed behind South Korean military lines through Antonov AN-2 transport planes, helicopters, submersibles and hovercrafts.
South Korea's strategy is to use its F-15K and other cutting-edge fighter jets, Aegis destroyers and K-9 self-propelled howitzers in conjunction with U.S. military firepower to deter or contain a North Korean threat in its initial stage. But the asymmetrical strategy is capable of neutralizing such conventional responses, prompting experts to call for more specialized measures to deal with the threat.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/29/2010042901362.html
North Korea has over the last 10 to 20 years been developing what is called an "asymmetric strategy," which involves focusing on areas, however small, where South Korea is inferior to the North or lacking altogether. One part of this strategy is submarines. The North is believed to have a fleet of around 70 submarines, including some 20 1,830-t Romeo-class subs and 20 330-t Shark-class subs.
The subs had been considered only a minor threat, due to their age, noisy engines and inability to operate in the shallow coastal waters of the West Sea. But the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan could radically change that perception.
There are growing concerns in the South Korean military that its anti-submarine warfare capabilities may not be up to the challenge. The South Korean Navy's battleships, 10 submarines and P-3C Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft can detect subs, but there is considerable skepticism about their ability to incapacitate the entire North Korean submarine fleet. Former South Korean defense minister Kim Jang-soo said recently that he heard the military is capable of detecting less than 50 percent of North Korean submarines.
Another area that needs improvement is the ability of South Korean naval ships to deal with mines. A U.S. military official reportedly said early last year the South needs to drastically strengthen its ability to combat mines. The fact that a mine was initially considered the most likely cause of the sinking of the Cheonan demonstrates the Navy's apparent weakness in detecting and defusing mines.
North Korea's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as well as its ballistic missiles are another key component of its asymmetric strategy. The communist country is believed to have six to eight nuclear weapons similar in strength to the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. It is also believed to have between 2,000 to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, making it the world's third largest arsenal. It has around 10 different types of biological weapons as well. A thousand tons of chemical weapons is believed to be enough to kill 40 million people on the Korean Peninsula.
Around 350 long-range North Korean artillery pieces including 170-mm self-propelled howitzers and 240-mm multiple rocket launchers are lined up on the border and trained at Seoul and other South Korean cities, while 1,000 ballistic missiles, including 350 Scud and Rodong missiles, also pose a huge threat. If North Korea unleashes its artillery shells over the border, 100,000 Seoul residents could be killed or injured in just an hour.
North Korea also has around 180,000 special forces troops, the largest contingent in the world, who are constantly ready to be deployed behind South Korean military lines through Antonov AN-2 transport planes, helicopters, submersibles and hovercrafts.
South Korea's strategy is to use its F-15K and other cutting-edge fighter jets, Aegis destroyers and K-9 self-propelled howitzers in conjunction with U.S. military firepower to deter or contain a North Korean threat in its initial stage. But the asymmetrical strategy is capable of neutralizing such conventional responses, prompting experts to call for more specialized measures to deal with the threat.
China Connection
TB Fanatic
N.Korea 'Runs Naval Suicide Squads'
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/30/2010033000884.html
Former North Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea on Monday claimed "underwater suicide squads" may have been responsible for the mysterious sinking of a South Korean naval vessel on Friday.
They are similar to the underwater demolition teams operated by the South Korean Navy, the defectors claimed. Recruited from the cream among North Korea's naval commandos, members of the teams are treated well but undergo brutal training.
According to one high-ranking North Korean defector, the North formed suicide attack squads in each branch of the military after the country's leader Kim Jong-il said during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that no military in the world can defeat an army that can carry out suicide bombings.
The suicide attack squads are known as the "invincibles" in the Air Force, "bombs" in the Army and "human torpedoes" in the Navy. North Korea is said to place special emphasis on the naval squads. It operates a brigade of suicide attack squads in its East Sea and West Sea fleets and they are considered key to overcoming North Korea's inferior conventional military power.
One former North Korean sailor who defected to South Korea said the suicide squads have many semi-submersible vessels that can carry two bombers and either two torpedoes or two floating mines. In areas like the West Sea where the underwater current is fast, the suicide bombers train with mines rather than torpedoes.
One defector who served in North Korea's intelligence service, said, "Following the first naval battle in 1999, North Korea realized that it cannot defeat the South Korean Navy by conventional means and began studying unconventional methods." The best method is said to be the use of "acoustic mines" carried by small, semi-submersibles that travel at speeds of less than 2 km/h. The craft could be detected by South Korean sonar if they travel any faster. If the underwater squads returned after placing the mines on the hull of a ship, it would be very difficult to find evidence of the attack.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/30/2010033000884.html
Former North Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea on Monday claimed "underwater suicide squads" may have been responsible for the mysterious sinking of a South Korean naval vessel on Friday.
They are similar to the underwater demolition teams operated by the South Korean Navy, the defectors claimed. Recruited from the cream among North Korea's naval commandos, members of the teams are treated well but undergo brutal training.
According to one high-ranking North Korean defector, the North formed suicide attack squads in each branch of the military after the country's leader Kim Jong-il said during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that no military in the world can defeat an army that can carry out suicide bombings.
The suicide attack squads are known as the "invincibles" in the Air Force, "bombs" in the Army and "human torpedoes" in the Navy. North Korea is said to place special emphasis on the naval squads. It operates a brigade of suicide attack squads in its East Sea and West Sea fleets and they are considered key to overcoming North Korea's inferior conventional military power.
One former North Korean sailor who defected to South Korea said the suicide squads have many semi-submersible vessels that can carry two bombers and either two torpedoes or two floating mines. In areas like the West Sea where the underwater current is fast, the suicide bombers train with mines rather than torpedoes.
One defector who served in North Korea's intelligence service, said, "Following the first naval battle in 1999, North Korea realized that it cannot defeat the South Korean Navy by conventional means and began studying unconventional methods." The best method is said to be the use of "acoustic mines" carried by small, semi-submersibles that travel at speeds of less than 2 km/h. The craft could be detected by South Korean sonar if they travel any faster. If the underwater squads returned after placing the mines on the hull of a ship, it would be very difficult to find evidence of the attack.
truthseeker
Inactive
This article is from march, why did you add it to a current thread?
speaking of a current thread, anyone want to start up a new weekly North Korea news thread?