U.S. Against Korean Military Buildup?

The reason why the U.S. is reluctant to sell state-of-the-art weapons and military technology, including its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “Global Hawk,” is because it does not want Korean military power to expand beyond the Korean peninsula, claimed Strategy Forecasting (Stratfor), a U.S. intelligence analysis agency, on September 25.

In a report titled, “Rethinking the Future of Korean Forces,” the agency explained, “Korean military strategists are drawing plans not only on deterring and defeating North Korean aggression, but also on maintaining a balance between China and Japan, independently dealing with threats from China and Japan, and ensuring the safety of the shipping route from the Middle East through the Malaka Straits to Korea.”

The report went on to claim, “The U.S. government, however, hopes the capabilities of Korean troops be confined to defending against North Korea; it does not want Korean forces to look toward Northeast Asia.”

The report forecasted, “The Korean government seeks to purchase Global Hawks, which has an operational range of nearly 5,500km and is capable of patrolling Japan and most of China. The U.S., however, will not sell Global Hawks to Korea as it will tactically support Korean forces only in combat zones for blockading North Korea.”

The Korean Ministry of National Defense has planned and pushed for purchasing four Global Hawk vehicles starting in 2008, but the U.S. rejected this, saying, “[A Global Hawk vehicle] cannot be sold as it is an item regulated by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).”

sechepa@donga.com