South Korean National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong says that the US has committed to deploying more “strategic” military assets around the Korean Peninsula. Such deployments are to start later this year.
Details are scant, but Chung suggested the deployment was meant to show that there wasn’t “any crack” between the US and the South Korean government amid mounting US tensions with North Korea.
Even the term “strategic assets” is deliberately vague. Historically it has referred to heavy military assets meant to attack population centers, in contrast to “tactical” weapons meant to be of specific use on the battlefield.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has insisted that he will not allow any US deployments of nuclear weapons into South Korea. This likely rules out a lot of such assets, though “strategic” assets could still include aircraft carriers and heavy bombers. The caveat that the deployments will be “near” the Korean Peninsula could mean the US is planning buildups in Guam and Japan as well.
This is one quick way to get North Korea to attack first.
Where the “logic” of getting nukes does not apply to North Korea, there is one logic that DOES apply: don’t let the US build up its forces and control the time and place of its attack.
THAT lesson should be learned from Iraq, which did nothing as the US built up huge forces on its border. Of course, in the case of Iraq there wasn’t much it could do. That isn’t the case with North Korea.
The US does not enough troops to send many to reinforce the South Korean military. It could send one or more battalions that are already earmarked for a Korean conflict, but that’s about it. .But the US can send more aircraft to South Korea and the region and also position three or more aircraft carrier strike groups near the peninsula.
If I were Kim, the minute those assets show up in South Korea as a clear indication that the US is planning an invasion, I would attack South Korea. I would try to take the capital, Seoul, which is very near the border. Holding Seoul and its millions of people hostage would give me leverage over negotiations for a ceasefire and a return to the status quo.
From the US perspective, moving strategic assets into South Korea is a clear sign that the US is in fact planning to attack and/or invade North Korea.