*EPF107 07/28/2003
South Korean, U.S. Forces Capable of Meeting North Korean Threat
(Article on Gen. LaPorte's July 27 interview on ABC TV) (520)

By Jane Morse
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- South Korean and U.S. forces are well equipped to meet both the conventional and nuclear North Korean military threat, says General Leon LaPorte, the commander of all U.S. forces in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

In an interview televised July 27 on the American Broadcasting Corporation's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," LaPorte said the high level of training and readiness of South Korean and American troops is the major reason why peace has held for so long in South Korea, where hot fighting ended 50 years ago with only an armistice.

"The Republic of Korea and the United States have tremendous military capabilities, far exceeding those of North Korea," LaPorte told Stephanopoulos. "North Korea's navy and air force are minuscule compared to the ROK and the U.S. Navy and Air Force, which gives us distinct advantages...."

"The Republic of Korea military is a very well-trained, well-led and disciplined force. And they have a significant number of ground forces. So we're very, very confident in our ability to execute our deterrence mission. And if deterrence fails, we're prepared to fight," LaPorte said.

The general acknowledged that North Korea has "a very credible conventional military threat," noting that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has 1.2 million soldiers, 70 percent stationed within 70 miles of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas. It also has, he said, 10,000 artillery pieces, 12,000 underground facilities, and over 800 missiles that are capable of reaching South Korea and some of its neighbors.

"But for the most part," LaPorte said, North Korea's military is "an aging military, with older, Soviet equipment. And they have not been able to make the investment -- although, forty to fifty percent of their Gross Domestic Product in North Korea goes to the military."

U.S. plans to move its forces farther south of the DMZ are an adjustment to changing conditions, technologies and capabilities, LaPorte said.

"We have such tremendous military capabilities that we can be better used by being further back and having the agility and flexibility to move," he said. "If you're too close to the demilitarized zone you run into the opportunity of having your forces fixed and you lose your ability to maneuver."

Exactly how and where this force repositioning will take place is currently under discussion with the South Korean government, he said.

LaPorte emphasized that the United States is "committed to 50 more years of deterrence."

"The tremendous deterrence that we have displayed for the past 50 years has made the Republic of Korea a tremendously prosperous nation, the 13th largest economy in the world," the general said. "People live very happy, fulfilling lives here. That's a tremendous, tremendous testament to this great alliance, this ROK-U.S. alliance and what it's been able to do in terms of deterring aggression and guaranteeing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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