What is South Korean military’s scenario in case North Korea retaliates the South’s scheduled live-fire drills early next week?
The local Chosun Ilbo Saturday ran an article on South Korea is likely to respond to North Korea’s new provocation.
According to the report, if the North chooses to carry out a fresh provocation, “it wouldn’t be simply an exchange of artillery firing,” and predicted the North’s shelling would reach beyond the south of the NLL, the current de facto inter-Korean maritime border.
South Korean military has deployed additional arms forces in the island of Yeonpyeong, including K9 artilleries, MLRS rockets and ARTHUR radars, it said.
The report said it’s possible North Korea would use more powerful artilleries than it used in previous attacks.
South Korean fighter jets are already on stand-by mode, it said, adding it is possible that the two Koreas would engage in a combat situation in the air. It said South Korean air force, armed with U.S.-made F-15Ks, will outstrip that of the North, which has Russia-supplied Mig-23s and Mig 29s.
The scale of the escalation of confrontation much depends on how each side chooses to respond to the other’s move, the report said, leaving much uncertainty on who the current situation leads from here.