Military to reinforce retaliatory ability vs. NK provocation

The South Korea-U.S. joint military drills Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, which are annual defensive exercises against provocations and all-out war launched by North Korea, will begin Monday.

A U.S. aircraft carrier, 2,300 American troops including those stationed in the South, and South Korean Army forces will take part.

Key Resolve, a command post exercise for easy maneuver of expanded U.S. forces in case of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula, will run through March 10. Foal Eagle, a joint field exercise, will end March 30 and be joined by 10,500 U.S. troops and more than 200,000 Korean troops, including reserve forces.

A U.S. unit specializing in eliminating weapons of mass destruction will also join the drills to conduct exercises to remove North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles.

To guard against North Korean provocations during the drills, the South Korean military stepped up its guard near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea, and in the Military Demarcation Line, the land border between two Koreas.

Military officials in Seoul say Pyongyang is likely to fire artillery if it launches direct attacks on places where South Korea’s psychological warfare is based, such as Imjin Pavilion. Rifle or machine gun attacks are impossible because the pavilion is about two kilometers away from the Military Demarcation Line, so the North could launch a surprise artillery attack.

In the event of a provocation, the South will immediately retaliate under the rules of engagement. If the North shells the pavilion, the South fire back with 4.2-inch mortars or 105-milimeter artillery.

A military source in Seoul said, “We have practiced sighting shots at North Korean artillery bases so that we can fire back within several minutes.”

The South will fire more than three shots for every North Korean shot under rules of engagement strengthened in June 2009. In November 2009, a North Korean patrol ship entered South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea and fired 50 shots. South Korean naval vessels retaliated with 4,000 shots.

ysh1005@donga.com