Pentagon worried by rapid N. Korean military buildup
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, March 10, 2000
WASHINGTON -- Even as U.S.- North Korea talks continue in New York, Pentagon officials are
expressing alarm at Pyongyang's huge military buildup.
U.S. Gen. Thomas Schwartz, commander of American forces in Korea, told
the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pyongyang is the "country most
likely to involve the United States in a large-scale war." He said
that despite a collapsing economy Pyongyang invests most of its resources in
the military.
Schwartz said North Korea's military is the fifth largest in the world
with one million soldiers, 1,600 aircraft and more than 800 naval ships and
12,000 self-propelled and towed weapon systems. He said Pyongyang's missile
inventory contains more than 500 Scud missiles and that North Korea
continues to produce and deploy medium-range No Dong missiles capable of
striking United States bases in Japan.
Negotiations are being conducted to improve relations and ensure U.S. and other international
aid to Pyongyang. The talks are taking place in New York and involve the first-ever
visit of a high-ranking North Korean official to the United States.
U.S. officials have been skeptical of the North Korean bid for aid saying
they are concerned that Pyongyang will find a way to divert Western
assistance to help fund military programs. The United States, Japan and
South Korea have pledged billions of dollars for North Korea to end its
nuclear weapons programs.
"They show no intentions to reform," Schwartz told the Senate panel on
Tuesday. "We must consider that the North Korean economy could break down
completely, precipitating social chaos and threatening the existence of the
regime itself. The situation on peninsula remains volatile, unpredictable,
and dangerous."
The general said North Korean ruler Kim Chong Il "will clearly sacrifice
popular welfare to continue his 'military first' policy." He said
Pyongyang's military goal is to "reunify the peninsula by force" in a
strategy based on surprise, a short war and the prevention of the arrival of
U.S. reinforcements on the peninsula.
"In the last 12 months, North Korea has done more to arrest a decline in
readiness and to improve its military capability than in the last five years
combined," he said. "Highlighting these enhancements is an ambitious program
to improve ground forces capabilities. A key component of this initiative
involves the deployment of large numbers of long-range 240mm multiple rocket
launcher systems and 170mm self-propelled guns to hardened sites located
near the Demilitarized Zone."
He said North Korea has tested the Taepo Dong, with a range of 2,000
kilometers, and the Taepo Dong, with a range of more than 5,000 kilometers.
The general said North Korea "is one of the world's largest missile
proliferators and sells its missiles and technology to anyone with hard
currency."
The talks in New York represent one aspect of North Korea's opening to
the West, officials said. They said a delegation of four North Korean
Foreign Ministry officials ended a visit to Canada as part of a renewed
dialogue with Ottawa. In January, Italy established diplomatic relations
with North Korea.
Friday, March 10, 2000
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