|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
N. Korea Invests Heavily in Nonconventional Weaponry to Gain Edge Over United States, U.S. General Says
Despite its poor economy, North Korea is spending up to 40 percent of its gross domestic product on its self-described “military first” policy, with most of that money going toward nonconventional capabilities, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Aug. 2). While North Korea’s conventional forces include an army of 1.2 million, the largest special operations commando force in the world and 12,000 artillery pieces near its southern border, these forces are not in a position to compete with those of the United States and South Korea, said Army Gen. Leon LaPorte, commander of U.S. forces for Korea. That has prompted Pyongyang to invest heavily in nonconventional capabilities. “They are making, primarily, their investments in the asymmetrical arena,” LaPorte told the Times. “They realize that they can never invest enough money in their navy and air force to compete (with U.S. and South Korean forces). So they are investing in asymmetrical capabilities,” he added. Asymmetrical-warfare weapons are those that provide a military advantage over more advanced militaries, according to the Times. In North Korea, that includes nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. North Korea’s continuing nuclear development could result in its ability to “weaponize their weapons-grade material on missiles,” said LaPorte, adding if that happened, “now you have a threat not just to South Korea, you have a threat to the region and the international community.” LaPorte said North Korea is investing heavily in missile production and deployment, possessing an arsenal of more than 800 missiles [see related GSN article, today]. “Their growing missile technology, their continued research and development and testing of missiles, that is a concern to all of us,” he said (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, Aug. 3). Meanwhile, Chinese and South Korean officials agreed yesterday that the U.S. allegation that North Korea is pursuing a highly enriched uranium program is an obstacle in resolving the nuclear standoff, China Daily cited the Yonhap News Agency as reporting. China’s ambassador on the North Korea nuclear issue, Ning Fukui, and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong met yesterday to coordinate a schedule for upcoming talks (China Daily, Aug. 3). Elsewhere, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck met yesterday in Washington, as diplomacy continued to intensify ahead of the fourth round of six-party talks, Agence France-Presse reported. The United States had to consult with allies South Korea and Japan in making a potential disarmament counteroffer to North Korea during the talks, according to analysts familiar with the discussions. “The emphasis now is: keeping the United States, Japan and South Korea united in how they will respond,” said Jon Wolfsthal, deputy director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He added that he believed the Bush administration was not eager to reach a settlement with Pyongyang, instead working to ensure that the talks would continue. “My sense is that while the Bush administration will be attacked from the left if they don’t reach an agreement, they will be attacked from the right if they do reach an agreement,” he said. “And it is more important for the Bush administration to secure the right in this election than it is to reach out to the left,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 3).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
