There is a great deal of talk about North Korea and their nuclear program in the global media. While North Korean missiles pose a threat to Japan, other Southeast Asian countries and the U.S., the greatest danger it poses is to South Korea. Seoul, the capital of S.K., is only twenty five miles from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between N.K. and S.K. The North Koreans have thousands of artillery pieces aimed across the DMZ at Seoul which is home to twenty million people.
The worst threat is that S.K. faces is from a N.K. nuclear warhead. It is believed that N.K. currently has a few nuclear warheads and is building more. They are working on miniaturizing their nuclear warheads so they can be delivery by missiles. Even short range N.K. missiles could easily reach Seoul.
S.K. does not have nuclear weapons. It has been relying on the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States under bilateral treaties. Lately, the current U.S. administration has been suggesting that perhaps countries that have been relying on U.S. nuclear deterrence should consider building their own nuclear weapons. South Korea has been mentioned explicitly in this context. S.K. may not have nuclear weapons to protect itself from the N.K. threat but they do have plans on how to deal with the threat with their existing military technology.
In order to counter the N.K. nuclear threat, S.K. is putting together a collection of conventional weapons. They have Global Hawk high-altitude surveillance drones as well as other types of surveillance and reconnaissance systems. They have advanced fighter-bombers, cruise and ballistic missiles. And highly trained special forces from the S.K. army could be called upon.
S.K. surveillance assets will be looking for signs of preparation for N.K. missile attacks in the form of a dispersal of mobile platforms for short range and intermediate missiles. Convoys of fuel trucks for liquid fueled missiles would be another sign. N.K. missiles carrying submarines leaving port is a possible indication of coming attack. A movement of the N.K. elite to shelters under Pyongyang or to the country side might also signal preparations for attack.
If and when the S.K. government is certain that an attack is coming, they will activate at plan called “Kill Chain.” S.K. Marines will be flown into N.K. to check out possible missile sites. If the teams find missiles, they could use their own weapons to attack the missiles or they could call in air strikes by bombers or cruise missiles. S.K. F-15K Slam Eagle bombers can fire their air to surface missiles from beyond the range of N.K. radar. German Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 310 miles are being integrated into the F-15K arsenal. These missiles could be fired from Seoul and reach beyond Pyongyang. They can even take out buried bunkers where the N.K. elite might be hiding. Intermediate range Hyunmoo ballistic and cruise missiles are also available to pound targets anywhere in N.K.
When Kill Chain is initiated, hundreds of missiles and aircraft will head north to destroy N.K. missiles. Kim Jong-un will be a high priority target as well as the nuclear command communications system of N.K.
In addition to the Kill Chain plan, there is also another contingency plan called Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR). The primary goal of KMPR is the elimination of the N.K. leadership and the end of the current regime. A S.K. official said that “Every Pyongyang district, particularly where the North Korean leadership is possibly hidden, will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosive shells as soon as the North shows any signs of using a nuclear weapon. In other words, the North's capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map.”
KMPR would also send three thousand S.K. Marines across the border to take out the top leadership of N.K. Considering the concentration of power in Pyongyang, this likely means that the special forces would invade the capital city.
The big question with respect to Kill Chain and KMPR is whether or not they would or could work. They are ambitious plans to deal with a very dangerous and complex situation on the Korean peninsula. A new Korean war could result in the deaths of millions of Koreans and the devastation of the whole peninsula. As complicated as the situation is, S.K. should be applauded for coming up with a plan based on conventional weapons as opposed to moving forward with a nuclear weapons program of its own.
