By Jung Sung-ki
The military is devising new engagement rules to retaliate against North Korea’s limited warfare tactics, a military source said Tuesday.
The new rules would encompass preemptive strikes by the South Korean military against key targets in the North as part of “proactive defense” plans, the source said.
“Currently we have standard rules of engagement for armistice and wartime situations but don’t have any for (the North’s) provocation during peacetime in a limited area,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “Following the sinking of the Cheonan, we felt the need to come up with rules of engagement to react to such major provocation.”
Without a manual for limited warfare, the South Korean military was under heavy criticism for its delayed response to the sinking of the 1,200-ton frigate. Forty-six sailors were killed.
During the latest Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise, the militaries of South Korea and the U.S. tested various rules of engagement regarding North Korean provocation, according to the source.
“If Baengnyeong Island was seized by a North Korean amphibious attack, for example, South Korean and U.S. troops would initialize operations to retake the island,” he said. “At the same time, under the envisaged new rules, the allies would launch precision strikes against North Korean coastal artillery sites and fighter bases in Hwanghae Province under the authorization of South Korea’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the U.S. Forces Korea Commander.”
South and North Korea remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a permanent peace treaty.