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| Paragliding is the North Korean military's latest strategy to infiltrate the South and attack key South Korean and U.S. bases. / Screen capture from YouTube |
By Ko Dong-hwan
North Korea has developed an extraordinary way to infiltrate the South and attack the allies' strategic bases – using paragliders.
The new tactic comes in the face of continuing military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
South Korea's National Defense Committee, Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed on Tuesday that the North is using paragliding troops in an ongoing military exercise.
The troopers' goal is reportedly to take over the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Their exercises are using a replica of the command, which is unusual in the North's military training, according to the authorities. The North has been known to use a replica of the South's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, in training to simulate infiltration.
The paragliding troopers are members of the light infantry unit, the sniper unit, the naval unit, the air force unit and the air defense troop.
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| North Korea's Korean Central TV said on Aug. 26 that North Korean soldiers simulated infiltrating Baengnyeongdo Island and Yeongpyeongdo Island in the South's Western Sea. The naval exercise came on the North's national holiday that marked the Seongun (military first) policy of late leader Kim Jong-il. / Yonhap |
South Korean military authorities believe the North opted for paragliders because they only weigh about four kilograms, are foldable and give soldiers maximum mobility. They are also difficult for radar to detect, similar to North Korean drones that have penetrated the South.
"Paragliding is noiseless and they move at a very low altitude, so it is perfect for fast infiltration like drones," a South Korean military official said. "The North, with their limited resources, have now come up with something very few would have come up with."
A short-range air defense (SHORAD) exercise by the South's air defense unit and soldiers from the U.S. 6th Battalion and the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, from late September, aimed at effectively countering low-altitude aerial threats like North Korean jets, transports and helicopters. It was the first time that the allies had held a combined SHORAD training drill in South Korea.
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