South Korea admitted its military is actively conducting “decapitation drills” for the possible assassination of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un — who vowed Sunday to boost the hermit kingdom’s nuclear arsenal, build military drones and launch new spy satellites in 2024.
Taking out the Hermit Kingdom’s supreme leader is an “option,” South Korean (ROK) defense minister Shin Won-sik told reporters during an interview on MBN television, according to NK News — a rare admission from Seoul leaders about an operation that hasn’t been publicly discussed for at least six years.
Asked by reporters whether assassination drills were still on the table and if US nuclear weapons could be deployed to the region, Won-sik said “both are considered options,” and added US forces have even taken part in assassination drills.
“While it is difficult to openly discuss decapitation, the ROK-US special operation forces are… conducting training,” Won-sik said.
“This training is for aerial maneuvers, raids on key facilities and indoor mop-up,” he added.
The under-the-radar drills with US Army Special Forces took place earlier in December, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On Sunday, Kim cautioned that US and South Korean policies were making war on the peninsula a “realistic reality,” and laid out military goals for the new year, including launching three new spy satellites to increase the targeting capability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, according to state media.
“Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula,” Kim said at a year-end address, North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.
US deployments of nuclear assets and drills in the region have made South Korea a “forward military base and nuclear arsenal” for America, Kim said.
He ordered the North Korean military to be prepared to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea,” including with nuclear weapons in response to any attacks.
In response, South Korea promised “the Kim Jong-Un regime will face its end” with the might of the US- Korean coalition of Kim initiated any aggressions.
Assassination of Kim was last openly discussed in 2017, when former South Korean defense minister Song Young-moo announced plans to establish the “decapitation unit,” so called because it would specialize in elimination of North Korean leaders.
The units involved helicopters and planes specially designed to drop troops into North Korea under the cover of night and carry out assassinations, according to the New York Times.
While North Korea is vocal about its weapons of mass destruction, South Korea does not maintain a nuclear stockpile by choice. One of Seoul’s best options for deterring North Korea is to keeping Kim worried, according to officials.
“The best deterrence we can have, next to having our own nukes, is to make Kim Jong-un fear for his life,” former South Korean general Shin Won-sik told the Times in 2017.
Renewed talks of the decapitation unit came just a day after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile test for the first time five months.
The missile reportedly used solid fuel, a crucial element required for nuclear-tipped missiles to reach the US from the Korean peninsula. A day before, North Korea launched a short-range missile test.
Both tests are believed to have been made in response to a meeting between US and South Korean leaders held in Washington on Dec. 15, in which both decided to conduct trainings for nuclear scenarios during joint exercises next summer.
In April, President Biden warned a North Korean attack on South Korea would “result in the end of whatever regime.”
Earlier in December, he reiterated his words, saying such an attack “will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response.”
https://nypost.com/2023/12/31/news/south-korea-training-for-assassination-of-kim-jong-un/
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