hankyoreh

the second son of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-il

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, Staff Writer　

The Combined Forces Command (CFC) announced Tuesday that South Korea and the United States plan to conduct the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise, an annual drill held to prepare for a total war on the Korean Peninsula, from Feb. 28 to March 10. Parts of the drill regarding sudden changes in North Korea, such as regime change or proliferation of North Korean nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), have reportedly been strengthened in comparison to last year.

A military source said the drills regarding sudden changes in North Korea were conducted during last August’s Ulchi Focus Guardian drill and last year’s Key Resolve drill. He said this year’s drill will apply as its base OPLAN 5027, which provides for a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, but the importance of the drills regarding sudden changes in North Korea has been increased. OPLAN 5027 is predicated on a full-scale war in Korea resulting from a North Korean provocation, and calls for the emergency deployment of massive U.S. reinforcements and equipment from the American mainland to beat back the North Korean invasion and advance north of Pyongyang.

The drills preparing for a sudden change in North Korea include the proliferation of WMBs like biological weapons, nuclear warheads and missiles; regime change in North Korea; a North Korean civil war brought about by a coup; a South Korean hostage situation in North Korea; a flood of North Korean refugees; and large-scale natural disasters.

South Korea and the United States plan to strengthen drills to remove North Korean nuclear weapons and WMDs. Since August 2008, when Kim Jong-il’s health deteriorated, the United States has reportedly shown heightened interest in North Korean nuclear weapons and WMDs going “loose” during a sudden change in North Korea.

Around 12,800 U.S. personnel will participate in the Key Resolve (10,500 troops) and Foal Eagle (1,500 troops) exercises, including an aircraft carrier, USFK and U.S. troops outside of Korea, while some 200,000 South Korean troops will participate. The CFC reported to North Korea the schedule of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises at Panmunjeom at 10 a.m. Tuesday. North Korea has criticized the exercises every year as “drills to invade North Korea,” and countered in 2009 by suspending inter-Korean military communication lines and in 2010 by suspending military talks with the United States and South Korea.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]