Will There Be War Between the Koreas?

The recent exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea could just be the beginning of the worse to come. Right now, the US nuclear carrier USS George Washington is heading to the Korean Peninsula to join South Korea’s “military exercises” while the South remains full alert for any eventuality.

Filipinos should not take lightly the unfolding events in that part of the world. The visiting American forces in Mindanao and their facilities can join the fray in case of war. Even if we don’t read in the news, the US facilities in the south have the latest top of the line logistics and capabilities to attack or thwart any external attack (to the Philippines) from any rogue country in the region. North Korea and its ally, China, are aware of the American military presence in the Philippines and in case of an all out war between the Koreas, although the possibility is remote, a possibility remains a possibility that North Korea aims its missiles to Mindanao which could be within their range.

The latest provocation of the North is the worst of its kind since Korea’s partition in the 50s but I believe that the North is not stupid to engage in a “hand to hand” combat with the South whose arsenal is far better equipped and modern.  Minus the US helping the South, in a conventional war, the South, relying on American warfare technology and equipment has the advantage but would suffer a heavy casualty because of North's massive military size and cavernous armory.

Food, water, medicine and other resources are critical factors that can decide the outcome of war. North Korea is a third world country compared with the economic blessings the South enjoys. Therefore, North Korea, despite its saber-rattling noise knows that it cannot win a war over South Korea unless it unleashes nuclear weapons. When desperate and resorts into that, once the US starts defending the South,  American technology has the capability to shot down nuclear missiles from the North while still airborne inside the North’s territory. The North also knows that if the US retaliates, their country will not be seen on the map again.

North Korea must not miscalculate its next move because the calculated response of the South and the US is devastating. -30-

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Photo Credit: 

http://www.hrana.org/USS_George_Washington.asp