ID :
87205
Sun, 11/01/2009 - 17:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/87205
The shortlink copeid
Seoul, Washington round out plans to handle N. Korean regime collapse: source
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. have completed joint action
plans to respond to a regime collapse and other internal emergency situations in
North Korea, a ranking government source said Sunday.
The so-called "Operational Plan (OPLAN) 5029," drawn after years of bilateral
consultation, dictates respective military responses by Seoul and Washington to
several types of emergency situation in the communist North -- a civil war, an
outflow of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the kidnapping of South Korean
citizens, a mass influx of refugees or a natural disaster, said the source.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source also noted that South Korea's
military will play a leading role in enforcing OPLAN 5029, with the exception of
the elimination of nuclear weapons and related facilities that will be handled by
the U.S.
"South Korea and the U.S. had long worked on Concept Plan 5029 to prepare for a
regime collapse and other internal emergencies in North Korea. Since its
inauguration last year, the Lee Myung-bak government has pushed to convert the
concept plan into an operational plan and it was recently completed," said the
source.
"If the South Korea-U.S. combined forces intervene in North Korea's internal
instabilities, the South Korean military will assume the leading role in
consideration of neighboring countries, while the U.S. military will be
responsible for the removal of the North's nuclear facilities and weapons."
He noted that South Korea and the U.S. will continue to complement and develop
specific details of OPLAN 5029.
The two countries have expressed concern that the outbreak of an internal
emergency in North Korea could lead to the transfer of its WMDs and relevant
technologies to terrorist groups or other countries.
The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce, not a peace treaty.
South Korea's 655,000-strong military, bolstered by 28,500 U.S. troops, confronts
North Korea's 1.2-million-strong force along the world's most heavily militarized
border.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
plans to respond to a regime collapse and other internal emergency situations in
North Korea, a ranking government source said Sunday.
The so-called "Operational Plan (OPLAN) 5029," drawn after years of bilateral
consultation, dictates respective military responses by Seoul and Washington to
several types of emergency situation in the communist North -- a civil war, an
outflow of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the kidnapping of South Korean
citizens, a mass influx of refugees or a natural disaster, said the source.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source also noted that South Korea's
military will play a leading role in enforcing OPLAN 5029, with the exception of
the elimination of nuclear weapons and related facilities that will be handled by
the U.S.
"South Korea and the U.S. had long worked on Concept Plan 5029 to prepare for a
regime collapse and other internal emergencies in North Korea. Since its
inauguration last year, the Lee Myung-bak government has pushed to convert the
concept plan into an operational plan and it was recently completed," said the
source.
"If the South Korea-U.S. combined forces intervene in North Korea's internal
instabilities, the South Korean military will assume the leading role in
consideration of neighboring countries, while the U.S. military will be
responsible for the removal of the North's nuclear facilities and weapons."
He noted that South Korea and the U.S. will continue to complement and develop
specific details of OPLAN 5029.
The two countries have expressed concern that the outbreak of an internal
emergency in North Korea could lead to the transfer of its WMDs and relevant
technologies to terrorist groups or other countries.
The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce, not a peace treaty.
South Korea's 655,000-strong military, bolstered by 28,500 U.S. troops, confronts
North Korea's 1.2-million-strong force along the world's most heavily militarized
border.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
