Uh-Oh: South Korea Promises Airstrikes If the Norks Attack Again

Isn't that like catnip to them? Tell them they can't do something and it guarantees they will?

Gird your loins.

The four-star general chosen as South Korea’s new defense minister said on Friday that the South would use airstrikes against North Korea if it carried out further attacks.

“If the enemy attacks our people and territory again, I will use force to punish the enemy to make sure it doesn’t even dare think about it again,” the minister-designate, Kim Kwan-jin, said in confirmation hearings on Friday.

...

Last week Mr. Lee accepted the resignation of his defense minister, announced plans to reinforce the island’s defenses and revised the rules of engagement to make it easier for South Korea to respond to a North Korean attack with greater force.

The problem I'm seeing is that Western-type civilizations always want to be merciful and use proportionate response. Escalate up. Give the enemy a chance to repent. Like good guys do in movies.

But that's not going to work on North Korea. If you hit them at all, they, being evil, are going to hit back really, really hard. They won't drop the nuke right away (that's step... three) but they'll shell Seoul.

If you're going to hit them at all... maybe it's just best to anticipate that they're going to wildly escalate and commit to wild escalation in the first place. Decapitating strike, destroy the border troops and artillery with Daisy Cutters.

I don't know how much punch South Korea has -- anyone who does, please put me some information.

posted by Ace at 04:15 PM

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