- domingo ago 29, 2010 12:31 pm
#54649
South Korean troops have been practising a war plan during joint military drills with the United States that envisions occupying and stabilising North Korea, news reports said Tuesday.
Communist North Korea has threatened fiery retaliation against the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercises involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops.
"Distinctive features of this year's exercises are the stabilisation operation, which is being led by the unification ministry," an unidentified military official was quoted as saying by the DongA Ilbo newspaper.
"The unification ministry is practising a programme aimed to turn North Koreans into Republic of Korea (South Korea) citizens, which is the culmination of such a stabilisation operation," he said.
Past UFG exercises practised restoring administration in occupied North Korean areas, but this one goes a step further, with re-education and stabilisation, carried out by Seoul's unification ministry.
Yonhap news agency, quoting an unidentified government official, also reported the stabilisation exercise, which is likely to further infuriate the North at a time when inter-Korean relations are at a new low.
"Various drills designed for different circumstances are being conducted," unification ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo told AFP, without elaborating.
The UFG exercises envision powerful counter-offensives into the North up to the Chongchon River, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Pyongyang, in case of aggression from the North, the Dong-A Ilbo said.
The August 16-26 joint exercise is the latest in a series being staged by the South -- either alone or with the United States -- after the sinking of one of its warships in March, which sharply raised tensions on the peninsula.
The South blamed the North for torpedoing the corvette, killing 46 sailors, an accusation the North angrily denies.
The current drill involves 56,000 South Korean and 30,000 US troops, as well as an unspecified number of American soldiers based in the United States who link up by computer, a South Korean Joint Chief of Staff spokesman said.
General Walter Sharp, who heads some 28,500 US troops based in the South, described the drill as "one of the largest joint staff directed theatre exercises in the world".
Seoul's defence ministry on Tuesday said it had detected a "massive" deployment of North Korean troops and arms near the capital Pyongyang.
The large number of soldiers, armoured vehicles and artillery have been stationed near the communist state's capital since July 12, the ministry said in a report to parliament.
The deployment appears to be related to political events such as a meeting of key communist party delegates next month and the party's 65th anniversary on October 10, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
"The massive deployment of troops could be designed to show their military power at home and abroad, or for security," he said.
Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium
link: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.60d0175d237b195337baaf43871770ad.491&show_article=1
South Korean troops have been practising a war plan during joint military drills with the United States that envisions occupying and stabilising North Korea, news reports said Tuesday.
Communist North Korea has threatened fiery retaliation against the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercises involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops.
"Distinctive features of this year's exercises are the stabilisation operation, which is being led by the unification ministry," an unidentified military official was quoted as saying by the DongA Ilbo newspaper.
"The unification ministry is practising a programme aimed to turn North Koreans into Republic of Korea (South Korea) citizens, which is the culmination of such a stabilisation operation," he said.
Past UFG exercises practised restoring administration in occupied North Korean areas, but this one goes a step further, with re-education and stabilisation, carried out by Seoul's unification ministry.
Yonhap news agency, quoting an unidentified government official, also reported the stabilisation exercise, which is likely to further infuriate the North at a time when inter-Korean relations are at a new low.
"Various drills designed for different circumstances are being conducted," unification ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo told AFP, without elaborating.
The UFG exercises envision powerful counter-offensives into the North up to the Chongchon River, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Pyongyang, in case of aggression from the North, the Dong-A Ilbo said.
The August 16-26 joint exercise is the latest in a series being staged by the South -- either alone or with the United States -- after the sinking of one of its warships in March, which sharply raised tensions on the peninsula.
The South blamed the North for torpedoing the corvette, killing 46 sailors, an accusation the North angrily denies.
The current drill involves 56,000 South Korean and 30,000 US troops, as well as an unspecified number of American soldiers based in the United States who link up by computer, a South Korean Joint Chief of Staff spokesman said.
General Walter Sharp, who heads some 28,500 US troops based in the South, described the drill as "one of the largest joint staff directed theatre exercises in the world".
Seoul's defence ministry on Tuesday said it had detected a "massive" deployment of North Korean troops and arms near the capital Pyongyang.
The large number of soldiers, armoured vehicles and artillery have been stationed near the communist state's capital since July 12, the ministry said in a report to parliament.
The deployment appears to be related to political events such as a meeting of key communist party delegates next month and the party's 65th anniversary on October 10, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
"The massive deployment of troops could be designed to show their military power at home and abroad, or for security," he said.
Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium
link: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.60d0175d237b195337baaf43871770ad.491&show_article=1
