U.S. General: N. Korean Invasion Doomed to Fail

The commander of the Eighth U.S. Army said yesterday that a North Korea invasion of South Korea will be defeated by combined South Korean and U.S. forces and result in a reunified Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. military daily Stars and Stripes said Lt. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr. made the comment Friday while talking to American teachers hired by the U.S. Defense Department to work in South Korea.

A military source said, “His comments emphasize that the U.S.-Korea alliance remains strong, and this is significant since the Ulchi Freedom Guardian Combined Arms Exercise will start Monday."

The exercise will be led by South Korea and supported by U.S. forces in preparation for transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul in 2012.

Fil also ruled out a further reduction of U.S. Forces in South Korea, saying the U.S. force level will pick up.

ysh1005@donga.com