The United States and South Korea have been in a security alliance since the Korean War ( 1950 - 53 ).
The alliance is aimed mainly at protecting the South Korea from
any North Korean aggression.
This security structure has also successfully prevented a few crises from erupting into
full-scale wars, namely the North Korean attacks on Cheong Wa Dae in 1968, the assassination
of the South Korean first lady in 1974 and the presidential assassination attempt made
by North Korean agents in 1983 in Rangoon.
After a period of relative calmness, two major developments have put the focus right back
into this alliance. These are:
1. Starting from the first nuke test that was conducted in 2006, North Korea has now
conducted 5-nuke test with increasing destructive power.
2. North Korea’s missile program has progressed over the last few decades from tactical artillery
rockets in the 1960s and 70s to short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles in the
1980s and 90s. Systems capable of greater and greater ranges are under development and testing.
Let us analyze how U.S is helping South Korea to counter the ever more aggressive North Korea.
United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a sub-unified command of United States Pacific Command.
Major USFK elements include Eighth U S Army, U S Air Forces Korea (Seventh Air Force),
U S Naval Forces Korea (CNFK), U.S Marine Forces Korea and Special Operations Command Korea.
More than 28000 U.S troops are stationed in South Korea.
These troops are located in different bases spread throughout the country.
The ground forces are currently in ready state.
Presence of U.S ground forces in the region is a key demonstration of the U.S government's
continued support to South Korea.
US Department of State has recently cleared $140 million worth of missiles for South Korea’s military.
The sales are divided into two lots, each worth an estimated $70 million.
The first lot covers 60 AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II along with its supporting equipment.
The missile fired from fighter jets is designed to take down enemy aircrafts.
It is a supersonic missile with a speed of 2.7 Mach and has range of 26 km or 16 miles.
The second lot covers 89 AGM 65 Maverick and its support elements.
The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM) designed for close air support.
It is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air defenses, ships,
ground transportation and fuel storage facilities.
It has range of around 22 km (12 nmi) and speed of 1150 km/hr.
These missiles will add teeth to South Korea’s air wing.
The Pentagon revealed this week that U S Marine Corps F-35 fighters are operating in South
Korea for the first time, as they participate in joint training exercises with the Republic
of Korea's military. The 8 planes are from a squadron of F-35B deployed to Iwakuni, Japan
in January, where they will be permanently stationed and on call to respond quickly if
a crisis occurs on the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean Peninsula is not a big place. The distance between the South Korean capital
of Seoul and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang is only 120 miles (193 km). An F-35 can cover that
distance in less than 10 minutes, and it can't be tracked by any of the air defense
systems available to the North Korean regime.
South Korea is also planning to acquire 40 F 35A (Air Force variant) between 2018 and
2021. Dictator Kim might doubt U.S willingness to use nuclear weapons in a crisis, but there's
no question U.S will use F 35 in a broader campaign to wipe out Kim's military.
USS Carl Vinson is one of the most powerful weapons platform in the world, being 3 football
fields long, having a displacement of 100,000 tonnes, and is capable of carrying more than
60 strike aircrafts.
It must be noted that, USS Carl Vinson is not alone, but it leads the US Navy Carrier
Strike Group One.
It is accompanied by other vessels including an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer,
the USS Wayne E Meyer (DDG 108). Arleigh Burke class is considered to be one of the most
potent destroyers in the world.
It is also expected to be accompanied by 1 or 2 nuclear strike capable ballistic missile
submarines like the Ohio class.
USS Carl Vinson is now close enough to Korea and can launch airstrikes if needed.
North Korea does not have ballistic or cruise missiles capable of targetting ships like
USS Carl Vinson at sea, and its submarine force is also not very advance.
The biggest threat to South Korea comes from North Korean missiles. To counter this, United
States has deployed the THAAD in South Korea and is operational now.
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), is an anti-ballistic missile system, which
is designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate range ballistic missiles in their
terminal phase. THAAD uses a hit-to-kill approach that is the missile carries no warhead, but
relies on the kinetic energy of impact to destroy the incoming missile.
A THAAD battery consists of at least 6 launcher vehicles, each equipped with 8 missiles, with
2 mobile Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs) and the AN TPY-2 Ground-Based Radar (GBR).
The THAAD Radar is an X Band active electronically scanned array Radar
developed and built by Raytheon.
It has an Operational range of around 200 km. The missile has a speed of 8.24 Mach or 2.8 km/s.
THAAD is expected to intercept North Korean missiles.