Friday, August 19, 2016

It's Never That Easy

I hope South Korea doesn't hope a lot of new offensive missiles solve their North Korea problem.

As long as this plan is just one piece of a land-centric strategy, it is fine:

The {South Korean] military plans to increase the number of Hyunmoo surface-to-surface ballistic and cruise missiles that can simultaneously strike missile bases all across North Korea in a time of war, sources said Sunday.

This is part of Seoul's plan to establish the "Kill Chain" preemptive strike and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems by the 2020s.

Even if North Korea's long-range missiles are smashed up with the remnants shot down by South Korean air defenses, this won't protect Seoul which can be turned into a sea of fire by North Korean conventional tube and rocket artillery just north of the DMZ.

To defend Seoul from this threat, the South Koreans will really need to advance north and carve out a no-launch zone.

Has the Republic of Korea learned nothing from Israel's dilemma against Hezbollah and Hamas?

Of course, I wonder if Israel has learned enough from that 2006 debacle.

I suppose it is human nature to hope a new weapon can solve all your military problems:

Japan will develop a new land-to-sea missile as part of plans to beef up its defence of remote southern islands, as tensions with China increase over the disputed territory, a report said Sunday.

Yeah, missiles alone won't solve Japan's China problem.

Military problems still require determined infantry to close with the enemy to kill them and stand on their ground (or remain standing on their own ground).