In South Korea, Fear of a US Preemptive Strike

Many Fear War Could Break Out at Any Time

For decades, reports on a new Korean War that estimated less than a million killed in the exchange have been seen as relatively optimistic. The development of nuclear weapons by North Korea could make things far, far worse.

South Korea bomb shelter

Tensions between the US and North Korea threaten to lead to a full-scale war at any time, and South Korea’s war-preppers are seeing a surge in interest, as South Koreans try to figure out how they’d survive such a conflict.

This has led to a lot more interest in stockpiling supplies, and getting underground shelters just in case. Woo Seung-yep, one of the most outspoken about preparing for such a disaster, sees North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as less of a concern than President Trump.

Woo says he doesn’t believe that Korea would itself erupt into any sort of conflict any time soon, and he believes the US is “laying the ground to justify an attack.” With South Korea’s government has been very clear about opposing such an attack, they would likely still bear the brunt of the retaliatory strikes.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.