Korea: December 27, 2002

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The US has warned North Korea that America can fight two wars simultaneously. While the north demands a "non-aggression" treaty with the US, for 50 years, it has been North Korea that has threatened invasion. Some believe that the north fears it will be the next target after America liberates Iraq. But this has never been part of American military planning. While Iraq has a pathetic army that has already been defeated once by the US, North Korea is a different matter. Not only are the Koreans more formidable fighters, the geography of Korea is mountainous and much more favorable for anyone defending. America fought a war in Korea in 1950-53 and remembers the difficulty of that conflict. No American general has ever recommended advancing north against over a million North Korean soldiers. For the same reason, there is a lot of confidence that any North Korean attack south would be a futile and bloody operation. South Korea is less optimistic, believing that the northerners would make massive use of commandos and chemical weapons to take a lot of South Korean territory. South Korea is not afraid of being conquered, but they do see their largest city (Seoul) destroyed, over a million South Koreans killed and their magnificent economy trashed. For that reason, South Korea is more willing to pay off the northerners, and wait for the dictatorship up there to collapse. 

 

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