09-28-98 : U.S. Prepared to Send 640,000 Troops If North Korea Invades South
Lee Sung-yul Staff reporter
Should Communist North Korea attack South Korea, more than 640,000 U.S. enforcement forces from Hawaii and other U.S. bases
will arrive to support forces here, the Defense White Paper 1998 released yesterday said.
The U.S. enforcement forces will include Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine forces under the Pacific Command'troops in Hawaii and
Japan, carrier battle groups, an amphibious ready group, said the annual white paper.
They will join the 690,000 South Korean troops and the 37,000 U.S. Forces Korea to expel the invaders.
The enforcement troop deployment is based on a ''win-win'' strategy, in which the United States seeks victory in simultaneous wars
in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.
The white paper also said North Korea is believed to be capable of producing one to two nuclear bombs, judging from its capability
to extract weapons-grade plutonium.
It is not certain whether the North has actually produced a nuclear bomb. But it seems the North has developed much of the
technology needed to produce one, said the report.
The report came up with the conclusion after noting that Pyongyang in April this year threatened to stop sealing nuclear fuel rods in
its facilities, a direct violation of its 1994 agreement to drop its nuclear program.
The main thrust of the paper asserted that North Korea has been further developing its surprise attack capability on South Korea,
posing a major threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Some of the arguments it presented to back up this assertion was that Kim Jong-il's assumption of the North's National Defense
Commission early this month is expected to lead to an increase in military strength.
In addition, the paper added that North Korea maintains eight facilities capable of mass producing chemical agents and several
other facilities to produce biological agents and weapons. The Communist North has already produced and stockpiled thousands of
tons of such gas agents as nerve gas, blood agent, blister gas and tear gas. And since the early 1960s, the North has exerted
strenuous efforts to enhance its chemical warfare readiness. In February 1992, North Korea distributed gas masks to all its citizens,
who receive regular chemical and biological defense drills, the paper asserted.
Pyongyang also has developed various systems to deliver the chemical weapons, including Scud-type missiles, Rodong and Frog
missiles, multiple-rocket launchers, field artillery, fighters and bombers, according to the paper. If the Communist country develops
longer-range missiles, it will be able to deliver chemical and biological payloads further distances, the paper stressed.
Pyongyang has produced and exported Scud-C and Rodong missiles, with a range of 500km and 1,000km, respectively, and on
Aug. 31 test-fired a Taepodong missiles with a longer range, surprising the world.
And North Korea's 240mm multiple-rocket launchers, Frog missiles and 170mm self-propelled artillery deployed near the border are
capable of hitting the capital area and the Chunchon-Sokcho region.
The paper estimated that North Korea now maintains 1.16-million-strong troops, up 13,000 from last year, compared with 690,000 of
South Korea.
The country is also producing more Shark-class spy submarines, An-2 infiltration aircraft and amphibious hovercraft for infiltration,
and maintains a 100,000-strong special forces, it added. |
