N. Korea's gamble raises need for strategic military assets
B-52 bomber
B-52 bombers, F-22 Raptors, submarines may be deployed
By Jun Ji-hye
The United States is considering deploying a number of its strategic military assets to the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, the Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday.
This would include B-52 and B-2 bombers, F-22 Raptor stealth fighters and a nuclear-powered submarine, said defense officials.
“Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and the commander of the United States Forces Korea Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti discussed the possible deployment of the military equipment as part of measures to enhance joint defense capabilities,” said a ministry official on condition of anonymity.
“The allies are considering a variety of options,” he said. “They are working out details to decide on the assets to be deployed and the timing of the deployment.”
The B-52 is a warplane capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles, and the B-2 has a radar-evading stealth function that enables it to elude anti-aircraft radars to drop conventional and nuclear weapons.
The main function of these planes, if deployed, would be to strike North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities.
As a nuclear submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor, it does not have to surface frequently, making it difficult for an enemy to detect. Moreover, nuclear submarines can operate at high speeds for long periods of time.
The F-22 Raptor is cited as the world’s best attack aircraft.
The North has been extremely sensitive about the deployment of such military equipment on the peninsula.
“If the bombers are deployed in time of war, they are capable of striking the North’s command and control facilities as well as nuclear facilities,” said another military official on condition of anonymity. “Actually, the North can be burnt to the ground.”
When the Kim Jong-un regime declared a state of semi-war and ratcheted up military threats in August, the allies also considered a deployment of strategic weapons.
The mounting tension at the time, initially caused by the detonation of North Korean landmines that maimed two South Korean soldiers inside the Demilitarized Zone, ended in the landmark Aug. 25 inter-Korean deal.
At the time, some observers said that the allies’ consideration of deploying the U.S. military equipment may have motivated the young, unpredictable leader to agree to end the tension.
Allies’ united response
The allies’ plan to deploy strategic assets comes after the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to fighting together in the event of any provocative action taken by the North.
Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Thursday that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter assured South Korea of his country’s “ironclad” commitment to defending the South from Pyongyang’s nuclear threats.
“This includes all kinds of extended deterrence assets,” Han stated in a joint press release with Carter.
The two defense chiefs had a phone conversation on Wednesday night about how to respond to the North’s fourth nuclear test.
Han and Carter also shared their determination that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear state, in the joint press release.
“Both ministers agreed that North Korea should pay a price that is proportional to the provocation,” Han said.
On Thursday morning, President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama also discussed the matter during a 20-minute telephone conversation and agreed to closely cooperate in order to ensure that the U.N. Security Council can adopt a resolution to impose strong sanctions against Pyongyang following its claimed hydrogen bomb test, said Cheong Wa Dae.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the North’s announcement, Wednesday, at which the members agreed to immediately start work on a new sanctions resolution directed at the North.
“The members of the Security Council also recalled that they have previously expressed their determination to take ‘further significant measures’ in the event of another DPRK nuclear test,” the press statement said. “In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution.”
So far, the council has adopted six resolutions, and of these, four included sanctions imposed on the isolated state for previous nuclear tests conducted in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
The proposed new sanctions resolution is expected to be much tougher than the previous ones.
The repressive state announced Wednesday that it conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test, raising tension on the peninsula as well as throughout the international community.
However, Seoul and Washington said it is hard to believe that it was the H-bomb test, considering the comparatively low magnitude of the seismic tremor detected this time.
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