hankyoreh

Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul and People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon. (Hankyoreh social media team)

As the ruling People Power Party pursues a platform of incorporating the city of Gimpo into part of Seoul, some observers are voicing concerns about potential disruptions to capital defense planning if Seoul becomes part of the region directly bordering North Korea.

During a luncheon meeting with the Ministry of National Defense press corps at the ministry’s complex in Seoul on Friday, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik commented on the security issues that would arise if Gimpo is incorporated into Seoul.

While he acknowledged that there would be “some symbolism attached if press reports [about a North Korean infiltration of Gimpo] were to say that they had ‘landed in Seoul,’” he added that the matter was a “value-neutral” one with “no positive or negative ramifications in terms of military operations.”

“If Gimpo is made part of Seoul, we would just need to make a determination on matters such as whether to assign the Army divisions or Marines in charge of Seoul to the Capital Defense Command,” he explained.

“It isn’t that difficult to adjust the units to align with adjustments to the areas of responsibility,” he added.

But the nature of the threat faced by Seoul does shift if Gimpo becomes another district within the city.

Jogang Observatory on Aegibong Peak in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, allows for a view of the Jo River and Kaepung, North Korea, on its further bank. (Hankyoreh file photo)

The river separating Gimpo from North Korea reaches a width of 1.25 kilometers — a distance that can be covered by a North Korean mortar shot. This means that the “mega-Seoul” vision could expose the city not only to the threat of North Korean multiple rocket launchers but also mortar fire.

Gimpo has been used by defector groups as a location for sending leaflet balloons into North Korea. As recently as 2014, a metal tower decorated with Christmas lights on Aegibong Peak was kept illuminated there as part of a psychological warfare campaign against the North.

Residents of the city have had to live with anxieties over North Korean threats of “targeted fire” at the site of leaflet distribution and the mountain peak. In the event of an emergency, threats against the “border city” of Gimpo would turn into threats against the capital city itself.

Apart from the events of Jan. 21, 1968, when North Korean guerrillas launched a raid against the Blue House, there has not been an armed clash between South and North in Seoul since the armistice.

A North Korean attack against Gimpo is unacceptable regardless of whether it is considered part of Gyeonggi Province or Seoul — but the effects on South Korea change with the nature of the threat.

In 2011, US media reporting on the 9/11 terrorist attacks described the situation as “America under attack.” It was the first instance of the US suffering an attack on its soil since Pearl Harbor in 1941.

If articles in the foreign press report on an emergency by describing it as “Seoul under attack,” it becomes impossible to rule out the potential for severe blows to national competitiveness and the attraction of foreign investment.

Incorporating Gimpo into Seoul could also have a huge impact on the armed forces’ current operational plan for defending the capital.

Seoul’s current borders place it 40 to 50 kilometers from the Military Demarcation Line. This means that the operational depth is shallow.

For the purposes of defending the capital, the military distinguishes the region south of this border into categories labeled GP (guard post), GOP (general outpost), FEBA (forward edge of the battle area), A (Alpha), B (Bravo), C (Charlie), D (Delta), and E (Echo).

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik speaks with the Ministry of National Defense press pool at a luncheon on Nov. 3. (courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense)

To protect the city, it has deployed large numbers of troops and weapons to the FEBA region, which is established north of Seoul. This means that making Gimpo part of Seoul could create disruptions to the current plans for the city’s defense operations.

With the inter-Korean military agreement of Sept. 19, 2018, former President Moon Jae-in expanded the buffer zone north of Seoul. In 1978, then-President Park Chung-hee considered relocating the capital to the Chungcheong region to put it out of reach of the North Korean military’s multiple rocket launchers.

But if Gimpo is made into a district of Seoul, the buffer zone with North Korea effectively disappears, shifting the city “northward” into North Korean mortar range.

“If we lose the buffer zone north of Seoul, the concern is that Seoul could end up directly exposed to a North Korean attack along the same lines as Hamas’ assault on regions [of Israel] adjacent to Gaza,” a reserve general previously in charge of defense for the capital region told the Hankyoreh in a telephone interview.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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