South Korea focuses on preemption assets in dealing with Nork threat

Korea Times:

The South Korean military plans to speed up efforts to deploy ground, air and naval weapons systems for use in strikes against key facilities in North Korea in the event of war, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.

The plan is part of a revised version of a military modernization package. The ministry unveiled the revision of the Defense Reform 2020 initiative drawn up in 2005.

The updated plan is focused on securing independent capabilities to remove North Korea's asymmetrical military threat of nuclear and missile programs by deploying sophisticated surveillance, reconnaissance and striking assets.

In the case of an emergency, the military could conduct pre-emptive strikes against nuclear and missile facilities, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

``That depends on a decision by the leadership,'' the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Under an integrated defense mechanism, the Air Force's multi-purpose satellite, early warning aircraft and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, along with a ground-based early warning radar, conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions around the clock, according to the defense reform plan.

Once signs of unusual movement, such as missile and nuclear tests, are detected, F-15K and other advanced aircraft are to conduct surgical strikes against the relevant facilities, it says.

Both ship-based and ground-based interceptors are ready to shoot down missiles from the North, it says.

The military is considering the introduction of up-to-date SM-6 extended range active missiles, which are being developed by the U.S. Navy and Raytheon, the JCS official said.

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The North is believed to have about 1,100 long-range artillery systems, including 60-kilometer-range 240mm rocket launchers, along the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas.

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There is more.

The South Koreans are certainly taking the threats from the North Koreans seriously and they are not without assets to deal with that threat. Their troops are also highly trained. Their biggest problem is that their capitol is in range of Nork artillery that is dug into mountains for protection. It will probably take some bunker buster bombs to knock out that threat. It would not surprise me if the US has not made those bombs available.

The preemption threat is something I was not aware of before. It should focus the minds of the North in how they approach their demonstrations.