Gus Lubin | Business Insider
Tensions are building on the Korean Peninsula again. In the months since the North’s last attack, peace talks have collapsed, missile sites were discovered along with preparations for a nuclear test, and more signs of economic stress were revealed in the rogue nation.
Now people are starting to worry.
President Lee Myung-bak called a massive meeting this weekend about the militarization threat:
The meeting, attended by 220 senior members of the central and local governments and the military, came after the two deadly attacks by North Korea last year. The participants discussed the country’s defense posture in the radically changed security environment of the peninsula following the attacks, along with the latest concerns on Pyongyang’s military brinkmanship using its nuclear and missile programs. “Taking into consideration the situation North Korea is in now, there is a possibility for more armed provocations by the North, so we must be perfectly prepared,” said Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik at the beginning of the meeting. “Only solidified security can guarantee survival and a prosperous future.”
U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Willard tells Joongang Daily an attack could come soon:
“This is a major concern of ours. When you package that together with the provocative actions that we saw in 2010, and the complexities of succession that are currently ongoing in North Korea, we may very well be facing the next provocation in months and not years.”
Meanwhile, JoongAng Daily recently uncovered U.S. military plans for a possible preemptive strike:
The Obama administration has drafted an operation plan that states it would hit North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction using nuclear or conventional weapons, according to documents obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday. Oplan 8010-08, drafted by the United States Strategic Command (Stracom) in January 2009, deserves attention in South Korea because it is linked with a nuclear umbrella the U.S. has promised to provide to South Korea.
See dramatic pictures of the last North Korean attack >
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