ID :
47131
Mon, 02/23/2009 - 17:25
Auther :

(News Focus) N. Korea ups ante by diversifying missiles targeting U.S.

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean regime is apparently trying to
increase its chances of survival while boosting its diplomatic leverage by
broadening its missile arsenal capable of hitting U.S. territory, defense
officials and analysts said Monday.
In its latest defense white paper, South Korea said its communist neighbor has
recently deployed new ballistic missiles that could threaten U.S. bases in Guam.
The evaluation of the North Korean military came amid heightened tensions as
Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test-fire its longest-range missile,
theoretically capable of hitting Hawaii and Alaska.
"The North is demonstrating that it can strike back if it is provoked, which
translates into a form of war deterrence capabilities," Koh Yu-hwan, a North
Korea professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said.
Brg. Gen. Cho Bo-geun, who oversees the biennial policy report at the Ministry of
National Defense, said the new missiles aim "beyond South Korea."
"The development of missiles with such a range obviously has other strategic
reasons," he said, declining to disclose the number of the medium-range missiles
that can fly approximately 3,000 km.
North Korea, which has hundreds of short-range missiles, began to develop
intermediate-range ones in the late 1990s, according to the white paper.
Cho declined to confirm a media report that the new missiles were placed along
the heavily armed border with South Korea, but said the deployment took place
"over a long stretch of time" last year.
Officials believe that even though the North conducted an atomic test in 2006, it
has yet to develop the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on its missiles.
A 2006 test of its most advanced Taepodong-2 missile also failed soon after
takeoff. But the country appears to have largely fixed the glitches since, the
white paper says.
Shin Won-sik, deputy of policy planning at the defense ministry, said the North
has also expanded missile gear that can move around swiftly to dodge counterfire.
The U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, has expressed confidence that
it can take out North Korean artillery and rockets in a dominant fashion if a
conflict erupts on the divided peninsula.
In an apparent move to reduce its losses, the North has increased the number of
multiple rocket launchers that can hit and run, the defense paper said, making it
harder for the U.S. to track targets.
The isolated North, despite a decrepit economy, maintains about 1.19 million
troops. The white paper said it has shifted to strategies that center around
light infantry divisions.
"After examining the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea appears to have
developed new strategies that can complement its shortfalls while reinforcing its
strengths," Shin said.
Training has recently increased to help soldiers more quickly infiltrate cities
and mountains, it said, as the North seeks to wage guerilla warfare to make up
for a lack of advanced weaponry.
The number of lightly equipped special troops who focus on infiltration to strike
U.S. and South Korean forces from behind has increased 50 percent to 180,000, he
said.
Relations between the divided Koreas deteriorated after South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak took office last year with a tougher stance on the North, drawing a
bitter reaction from Pyongyang.
Weapons experts say North Korea is believed to have some 600 Scud short-range
missiles and about 100 Rodong missiles, which are retrofitted Scuds. It has also
developed the Taepodong-1 that can fly up to 2,500 km.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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