US general's dire warning about war with North Korea

A retired US general said that the Pentagon's war scenario shows that a conventional war with North Korea would kill at least 20,000 people a day in South Korea.

The Los Angeles Times quoted retired Air Force Brigadier General Rob Givens as saying that the chances of a conventional war with North Korea are 50/50 and that a nuclear war is unlikely. In addition, the 20,000 death toll does not include casualties in North Korea, a country of 27-28 million people.

Photo: KCNA

"Too many Americans think that a conflict with North Korea will be like the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan or the campaigns in Libya or Syria, but the reality is far from it. There is only one way the war can end. That is by defeating North Korea... but at what cost?" said General Givens, who spent time on the Korean Peninsula.

US President Donald Trump has vowed that Washington would “totally destroy” North Korea in an armed conflict. However, the conflict scenario outlined by analysts at the US Department of Defense suggests that war with North Korea would not be like the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya.

Pentagon spokesman Christopher Logan also told CNBC on September 25: "Clearly, North Korea is a threat." He also pledged that the military would defend the US and its allies from that threat.

On September 25, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho accused President Donald Trump of declaring war on the North Korean regime and threatened that Pyongyang had the right to shoot down US strategic bombers even if they were flying in international airspace. However, defense experts remain skeptical about North Korea's ability to shoot down US aircraft.

“North Korea’s air defenses are not great,” said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

CNBC quoted analysts as saying that North Korea's new KN-06 surface-to-air missile could protect the country and it appears to be similar to Russia's S-300 air defense system. However, little is known about the KN-06's radar capabilities and the anti-aircraft weapon was only put into service in May.

As for the figure of 20,000 deaths per day, Mr. Williams said that estimate seemed quite realistic, especially for the early stages of the war, when neither side was well prepared.

Experts say that if North Korea were to use biological weapons, the casualties on the South Korean side would be much heavier. According to some estimates, North Korea has the third largest chemical weapons arsenal in the world, with up to 5,000 tons of chemical agents.

South Korea is particularly vulnerable to an attack from North Korea.

According to Vietnamnet.vn