S.Korea, US to enter `war situation` if NK launches attacks

South Korea and the U.S. will retaliate against North Korea if the latter launches a surprise attack or tries to occupy South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, military sources said Monday. Seoul and Washington have elevated their defense readiness against Pyongyang to "DEFCON" and treat the situation as one of war.

These measures have been apparently taken to respond to criticism that the South Korean military failed to launch an immediate and adequate counterattack when the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. A South Korean military source said these measures have been included as key elements in a plan on the joint countering of the North’s aggression on the Korean Peninsula, which was recently signed by Seoul and Washington.

According to the sources Monday, the militaries of South Korea and the U.S. will concurrently strike the “origin of aggression” and “supportive forces” as an initial move and take steps to elevate DEFCON if the North shells or attempts to occupy Yellow Sea islands, including Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong.

“To prevent North Korea`s additional aggression, which can be followed after an allied counterattack, and to punish its commanding forces, it is essential for South Korea to get assistance from allied forces including U.S. Forces in Korea," said another source. “For this to happen, the DEFCON level should be elevated from 4 to 3.” A military source said, “This constitutes the two allies’ commitment of not tolerating the North’s provocations that seek to take advantage of ‘loopholes’ in the South Korea-U.S. joint defense system.”

The two allies mostly did not raise DEFCON in the past even if the North launched a surprise artillery attack, considering it a "local provocation." When the artillery attack occurred on Yeonpyeong in 2010, the South Korean military issued “Jindogae 1,” its defense readiness for "local aggression" and elevated to “WATCHCON” only, which is the surveillance readiness alert for the North.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye instructed her military to sternly retaliate against the North’s aggression. “If North Korea launches any form of provocation against our people and the Republic of Korea, our military must set aside any political considerations and fight back severely against North Korea in the initial phase of combat,” the president said in a briefing session hosted by the Defense Ministry on Monday. “As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I will trust the military’s judgment on abrupt and surprise provocations by North Korea," she emphasized.

ysh1005@donga.com