US Reviews War Plan on N. Korea
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
10/17/06 "Korea
Times" -- -- The United States is mapping out a
new theater war plan on the Korean Peninsula aimed at striking
weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, reports said
yesterday, citing an unidentified Chinese defense expert in
Canada.
The U.S. move comes after North Korea's self-proclaimed nuclear
weapon test on Oct. 9.
According to the report, the United States is considering a plan
against North Korea to neutralize Pyongyang's nuclear capability
with overwhelming use of the U.S. Air Force.
Whether the new plan is related to the joint contingency plan
with South Korea, dubbed OPLAN 5027, was not confirmed.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) declined to comment on
the report.
Under the envisaged plan, U.S. combat aircraft and bombers, such
as F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters and F-15Es, would conduct
``surgical strikes'' on major weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
facilities, training sites, and intelligence and communication
facilities in the North instead of ground forces advancing into
the North, the report said.
OPLAN 5027, drawn up by the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command
(CFC), aims to deter North Korean forces armed with conventional
weapons. The South Korean and U.S. militaries review the
contingency scheme every year and update it in accordance with
the security situation.
Washington is reportedly committed to dispatching some 690,000
troops with 1,600 aircraft and 160 ships to the peninsula within
90 days after a war breaks out under OPLAN 5027.
The plan, however, lacks specific actions to cope with a nuclear
war.
Since Pyongyang's nuclear test, the South Korean military has
also stepped up preparations for a possible nuclear war on the
peninsula.
Sources at the JCS said last week that Seoul is reviewing OPLAN
5027 to address North Korea's missile and nuclear threats.
The JCS has submitted two reports to Defense Minister Yoon
Kwang-ung since Oct. 3 when Pyongyang announced its plan to
conduct a nuclear test, they said.
Copyright© KoreaTimes.co.kr
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