Shelton: N. Korea preparing for war
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Friday, May 14, 1999
WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to strengthen its military and has deployed most of its troops near the border to prepare
for a war against South Korea, the U.S. military chief of staff says.
In a statement to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense
on Tuesday, General Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said Pyongyang has deployed the majority of its more than 1
million North Korean soldiers near the demilitarized zone and Seoul. He
said the tensions from this deployment has been exacerbated by
Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program.
"Despite its collapsed economy and struggle to feed its own
population," Shelton said, "the North Korean government
continues to pour resources into its military and to pursue a policy of
confrontation with South Korea and its neighbors in the region."More
than one million North Korean soldiers serve on active duty, the vast
majority deployed within hours of the DMZ and South Korea's capital
city, Seoul."
Shelton said the United States must take the North Korean threat
very seriously. He said the Pentagon has deployed advanced tanks,
infantry fighting vehicles and artillery, attack helicopters and
aircraft in Korea.
The chief of staff said the United States has also deployed the
Patriot missile defense systems, improved surveillance capabilities and
upgraded prepositioned stocks.
"These actions have significantly improved our defensive posture,"
Shelton said. "Still, the threat remains, and North
Korea's substantial chemical and biological weapons capability, coupled
with its continued pursuit of ballistic missile technology, will demand
our attention for the foreseeable future."
The chief of staff was cautious in plans to develop a national
missile defense system [NMD]. Shelton, referring to the repeated
failures of a missile system being currently developed, indicated that
it was too early to make a decision to supply the estimated $3.8 billion
network.
"A threat is clearly emerging; however, the technology to hit a
bullet with a bullet remains elusive," he said.. "We will continue to
press hard to develop an effective NMD system, very mindful that the
growing threat is placing a deployment
decision in clearer context."
Shelton said the United States has also built up prepositioned
stocks of weapons and supplies in the Middle East so U.S. forces can be
deployed quickly to the Gulf region.
Friday, May 14, 1999
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