In drills, U.S., South Korea practice striking North’s nuclear plants, leaders

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

TOKYO — The United States and South Korea kicked off major military exercises on Monday, including rehearsals of surgical strikes on North Korea’s main nuclear and missile facilities and “decapitation raids” on the North’s leadership using special forces.

The drills always elicit an angry response from Pyongyang, but Monday’s statement was particularly ferocious, accusing the United States and South Korea of planning a “beheading operation” aimed at removing Kim Jong Un’s regime. The North Korean army and people “will take military counteraction for preemptive attack so that they may deal merciless deadly blows at the enemies,” the North’s powerful National Defense Commission said in a statement.

The exercises come at a particularly tense time, with the international community — especially the United States and South Korea — looking to punish Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test and missile launch. Sanctions passed by the United Nations last week are the toughest yet, and South Korean President Park Geun-hye is expected to unveil further, unilateral sanctions on Tuesday.

About 17,000 American forces and 300,000 South Korean personnel — a one-third increase from last spring’s drills — will take part in 11 days of computer-simulated training and eight weeks of field exercises, which will involve ground, air, naval and special operations services.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-drills-us-south-korea-practice-striking-norths-nuclear-plants/2016/03/06/46e6019d-5f04-4277-9b41-e02fc1c2e801_story.html

[iandhr]

1. I am pretty sure this is a message amid not at North Korea but at China.

China fears the collapse of the NK regime. If that happened ROK troops backed by the United States would be on their border. The message is "you have to do your part to get North Korea in line or these military drills will continue since China is the only country in the world with any kind of leverage on NK.

[father founding]

2. money,money,money,

THEY really want that central bank, don't tHEY ?

[7962]

3. That would bring any war to a quick end. Unless China got involved like LAST time.

NK is SO focused on total control that if you just cut off the communication with the field, the bulk of the NK army would have NO idea what to do. They're not allowed to make any decisions below command rank. The result would be a wholesale slaughter and a relatively fast end

[iandhr]

4. Your are quite right.

That's why NK makes these really loud threats without anything else. It's really a tantrum about how no one pays attention to them and the joint annual US/ROK exercises go off without a hitch.