The unrest in the Korean peninsula continues to mount and South Korea is worried about the missile tests conducted by the North. Therefore, Seoul is working out a strategy of its own to contain the threats from its neighbor and create a Special Forces “decapitation unit” by the end of the year.
It will be an official unit with the purpose of penetrating the defenses of North Korea and conducting raids. Identified as Spartan 3000, the force will be equipped with helicopters and transport planes. This was revealed by Song Young-moo who is the defense minister of South Korea.
The 'decapitation unit' of Seoul
According to New York Times, the concept of a decapitation unit is not new for South Korea. The unit was created in the 1960s and it consisted of prisoners and misfits who were specially trained to sneak across the border. Their assignment was to kill North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, but the mission was subsequently aborted.
The present leadership of South Korea wants to revive the concept and send a message to the North to stop developing its nuclear arsenal. Moon Jae-in is the president of South Korea and when he took over office, he indicated his preference for peaceful means to resolve the contentious issues with North Korea. He even suggested a number of options but they failed to get any positive response.
His present strategy appears to be to instill fear among the leaders of North Korea through the proposed decapitation unit. That could influence Kim to change his mind and come to the discussion table.
Strategy of South Korea
Moon Jae-in has realized that for the safety and well-being of his country, Kim Jong-un must stop all activities related to nuclear weapons.
Moon Jae-in knows that if the United States carries out preemptive strikes on the North, the South will also be hurt. As an ally of the US, an attack on the North will be bound to leave some mark on the South. That fact could explain the reemergence of the decapitation unit which could play a major role in containing the activities of the North.
A broad outline of the South’s plans could be to neutralize the military inventory of North Korea. Its artillery and rocket tubes are located in close proximity to the border. In the opinion of military planners, North Korea can deliver more than 5,000 rounds against South Korea at very short notice. Pyongyang can also launch missiles but getting advance knowledge of such activities is not an easy task. It maintains a high level of secrecy with its missiles concealed in underground tunnels. It has also switched over to solid fuels which makes for ease of transportation and launch.
The US has positioned its warships in the peninsula and South Korea has its THAAD missile defense system to maintain vigil over its airspace. The question is – can Kim be convinced to keep his finger away from the button?
