Korea-U.S. review a joint contingency plan for N. Korea’s provocation

Korea and the U.S. have reviewed their joint contingency plan for local provocation from North Korea in an effort to step up their military preparedness.

According to military sources on Thursday, Korean and U.S. military leadership including Army General Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chief of Staff, and Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the U.S. forces in Korea, reviewed their joint contingency plan in case of various provocations from North Korea.

This contingency plan, created in 2013, is about eliminating the origin of the provocation and those who support or lead such provocation. It involves not only Korean forces but also the U.S. forces in Korea in a revenge operation in response to North Korea’s local provocation such as the bombing of Yeonpyeong Island. It is said to have been prepared based on around 30 provocation scenarios including a surprise bombing or forceful occupancy of islands in the northwestern islands, rear infiltration by Special Forces and the enemy’s submarine attack on our fleet. “In response to the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and strong sanctions by the international community, North Korea is highly likely to cause provocation in the northwestern islands or the military demarcation line (MDL),” a military source said.

Gen. Lee had a video conference with U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Joint Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces, on Thursday to discuss measures in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. It also said that they had a discussion over sharing real-time information on North Korea’s long-range missiles and the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the tripartite meeting.

The level of the armed protest against the North is also escalating. According to the military authorities, USS North Carolina (7,800 tons), a Virginia-class attack submarine, will arrive in Korea next week. The battleship, which is 115 meters long and has 130 crews, is loaded with Tomahawk submarine-launched missiles with a range of 10,000 kilometers and depth bombs. While staying in the water for a long time, it can infiltrate into the enemy’s territorial waters for a surprise attack

Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, the Korea-U.S. joint military exercises scheduled next month, will involve many U.S strategic weapons including USS John C. Stennis, a nuclear carrier, B-2 stealth bombers, and F-22 stealth fighters

In addition, the military said that the Korea-U.S. joint combat control team (CCT) exercised a joint infiltration training for the first time in Pocheon and Osan in Gyeonggi Province. The exercise is to drill the procedures on providing accurate target locations for our fighters and transport planes by infiltrating into the rear end of the enemy and secure safety for follow-on forces and drop zones in case of emergency.