South Korea, US announce plans to boost military preparedness

Jan 4, 2012, 13:45 GMT

Seoul - South Korea and the United States announced their intention Wednesday to increase the number of joint military training exercises, amid concerns that the recent power transition in North Korea could lead to renewed hostility.

Currently, there is a single annual joint manoeuvre staged by the two countries. The proposals would boost the number of joint military exercises, the South Korean Defence Ministry reported.

The plan, which was approved in principle in the autumn, is to be signed by both countries this month, the ministry announced Wednesday.

Tensions have been high since the death last month of Kim Jong-Il, who had led the reclusive Communist dictatorship of North Korea since 1994, and the succession of his little-known son Kim Jong Un.

'The danger of a provocation from North Korea remains a constant possibility, since Kim Jong Un is still busy cementing his regime,' read a ministry statement.

Given past North Korean provocations - in 2010, Pyongyang was accused of torpedoing a South Korean military vessel and engaged in a firefight that killed four on a South Korean border island - Seoul is worried that the leadership transition could result in more unpredictable behaviour.

The additional military exercises should hopefully convince North Korea that any attack would result in punitive measures, the ministry statement added.

The United States has 28,500 soldiers based in South Korea, which technically remains at war with its northern neighbour after a conflict in the 1950s.

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