A presidential committee on military reforms plans to propose to President Lee Myung-bak that the military adopt an operational plan that allows its forces to preemptively strike North Korean bases if they see a sign of impending aggression, officials said Sunday.
The concept of "active deterrence" is key to preventing such provocations by North Korea as the deadly March sinking of a South Korean warship will require the South to secure an elevated capability to monitor the North, members of the committee said.
"This is a concept that allows for attacks if North Korea shows signs of nuclear and missile attacks," one member said, citing a committee meeting he attended. The official declined to be named.
Another member of the 14-member committee, headed by former professor Rhee Sang-woo and joined by Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, said the Cheonan sinking has transformed Seoul's view on national defense.
"The existing concept of deterrence was an approach based on the idea that the North would not attack, as long as we built up our forces, but the Cheonan case showed this concept to be unsuitable," he said, also declining to be identified.
The officials said that the attacks, if carried out, would only target North Korean bases considered to pose the greatest threat to the South.
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