S. Korean defense flawed against N. Korean artillery: lawmaker

By Sam Kim

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean military may fail to strike back at North Korea's border artillery as swiftly as needed in the event of a conflict because its internal communications equipment is obsolete, a lawmaker warned Monday.

Citing testimonies from retired officers, Rep. Kim Dong-sung said it could take
up to an hour and a half for South Korean counter-artillery forces to receive
coordinates on North Korean guns.
Kim, a member of the ruling Grand National Party, cited aging communications
lines used at frontline bases, disputing Army claims that coordinates can be
transmitted as quickly as in six minutes.
"In some cases, incorrect information is transmitted" from radars to bases
responsible for taking out North Korean artillery," Kim said during an annual
parliamentary inspection of government affairs.
North Korea has amassed some of the world's biggest artillery forces along the
military demarcation line, which was set in a 1953 truce that ended the
three-year Korean War.
South Korean and U.S. defense officials fear North Korea may try to wreak havoc
on the South Korean capital, Seoul, with its long-range artillery in the event of
war.
North Korea has in the past threatened to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire" should
a conflict arise on the Korean Peninsula, which is technically in a state of war
as no peace treaty has been signed yet.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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