Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
North Korea threat grows with new forces
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
North Korea threat grows with new forces - South report
Reuters - Friday, December 31
Send
IM Story
Print
By Jack Kim
SEOUL - North Korea's immediate threat to South Korea has grown, with 20,000 more special warfare troops deployed near their border along with 200 new tanks, a defence white paper published by the South on Thursday said.
The publication of the biennial report comes as tensions on the divided peninsula are at their highest in decades following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island in November.
The size of the North's military remained steady from two years ago at 1.19 million troops, the defence ministry paper said, but its "asymmetrical threat" grew with Pyongyang's continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
South Korea has reinstated its "enemy" designation for the North after having dropped it in 2000, when the two Koreas held the first of only two summit meetings between their leaders that led to warmer ties and the start of commercial exchange.
The heightened tension has worried regional powers, with China, the North's main ally, on Thursday repeating its call for dialogue and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin calling on the two Koreas to stop "muscle flexing."
The sinking of a South Korean warship in March that Seoul and its ally the United States blamed on a North Korean submarine attack, and last month's artillery barrage, had led the South to raise its guard, the defence ministry said.
The attacks led to exchanges of threats between the rival Koreas, with some analysts saying the chance of a wider conflict was greater than ever.
"In view of recent security conditions, we specified the North's regime and its military as our enemy," South Korean Defence Ministry policy planning chief Chang Kwang-il said.
Chang said the North's special forces numbered 200,000 troops and it continued to strengthen tactical warfare capabilities along the heavily armed border, with new units being added.
The North is believed to have 200 more tanks than previously identified, at 4,100 units, but the scale of its artillery firepower remained roughly equal to two years ago, the white paper said.
North Korea bombarded an island near the disputed maritime border off the peninsula's west coast in late November with 170 rounds of artillery in what it said was a defensive move against an imminent South Korean attack.
The shelling killed four people and drew a vow by the South to retaliate forcefully if there was any repeat.
North Korea channels much of its scarce resources into building a military under its homegrown "military first" policy that mixes Marxism with nationalism.
North Korea has deployed mid-range missiles that can hit all of South Korea and Japan and threaten U.S. military bases in Guam. The North already has hundreds of ballistic missiles that can hit most parts of the South.
The white paper kept its earlier estimate of the North's plutonium stockpile at 40kg , which experts believe would be enough for at least five nuclear weapons.
Experts do not believe the North, which has twice conducted nuclear tests, has the technology to make an atomic weapon small enough to mount on a functioning delivery system.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Cambodia charges Thai MP over border incident AFP - 32 minutes ago
Myanmar's Suu Kyi meets breakaway leaders AFP - 40 minutes ago
Hundreds flee rising Australian floods AFP - Friday, December 31
EU 'could end China arms embargo' AFP - Friday, December 31
North Korea threat grows with new forces - South report Reuters - Friday, December 31
News Search
Top Stories
Swiss franc hits record high vs dollar, euro, pound
Pope acts to tackle money-laundering in Vatican
Brazil's Petrobras confirms giant oil finds
Denmark and Sweden foil 'Mumbai-style' massacre plot
Bolivians to march against fuel price hike
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
French model known for anti-anorexia ads dies
World's oldest human remains claimed in Israel
Brazil's Petrobras confirms giant oil finds
Reese Witherspoon engaged to Hollywood agent
Deadline looms for Billy the Kid pardon
More Most Viewed »
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo!
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Entertainment
Photos
Yahoo! News Network
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Thursday, 30 December 2010 Factbox
Value of new London listings soars sixfold in 2010
Bashir sets Thursday deadline for Darfur talks
'Mumbai-style' massacre plot foiled in Denmark
New botanic database holds a million plant names
Taylor Swift Tops Post-Christmas Week On Billboard Albums Chart With "Speak Now"
ECB says Eurozone credit growth picking up
Jay Leno Replaces Comedian Lewis Black For South Florida Stand-Up Gig
Vatican to announce new money laundering rules
|
China corruption 'still very serious'
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Armored car sales jump as drug war batters Mexico
|
Reese Witherspoon engaged to Hollywood agent
Oscar nomination ballots sent to voters
S.Korea indicts two bankers for embezzlement
Bollywood's Dutt risks losing home over movie fee
Montenegro town's dream: from toxic dump to eco-tourism hub
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Michelle Williams "proud" of "Valentine" sex scene
China delays NSN's $1.2 billion buy of Motorola unit
|
U.S. makes amends for Wikileaks documents criticizing Chilean president
U.S. denies plotting overthrow of Ivorian leader
Original "V" Baddie Jane Badler Returns To Series Reboot
IBM unveils innovations to change the world in next five years
Small explosion at Miami International Airport lands man in federal custody
Taylor Swift Tops Post-Christmas Week On Billboard Albums Chart With "Speak Now"
Britney Spears Teaming Up With British Hitmakers Xenomania For New Album
Jay Leno Replaces Comedian Lewis Black For South Florida Stand-Up Gig
Michigan explosion traps three in furniture store
US-TECH Summary
Man confesses to murder, hiding body in luggage
Egypt president urged to free jailed Facebook user
Toy Story 3, Social Network top film review list
|
Michelle Williams proud of Valentine sex scene
|
Suicide bombers kill four in Iraq police station
Denmark and Sweden foil 'Mumbai-style' massacre plot
China shuts down 60,000 pornographic websites
Iraq civilian death toll lowest since invasion
Iraq civilian death toll lowest since invasion: study
|
Bolivians to march against fuel price hike
Taliban fires rockets into main US base near Kabul
Belarus to charge fifth opposition candidate over riots
US online sales surge 13 percent for holiday period
Blast outside Athens court building, no injuries
|
Brazil's Petrobras confirms big oil find
Deadline looms for Billy the Kid pardon
British feared Israel would nuke Arabs: archives
China shuts over 60,000 porn websites this year
French model known for anti-anorexia ads dies
Anger mounts in N.Ireland as burst pipes cut water supply
RIM offers data tapping at India office: report
Central bankers to meet as Iran, India oil row escalates
|
Portugal says to issue 20 bln euros in bonds in 2011
Belarus charges opposition candidates with organising riots
Sony sues to block LG from shipping phones to U.S.
More talks needed in Ivory Coast crisis: envoys
|
Putin, Medvedev to agree on presidential candidacy: PM
Cuba to cut soap and toothpaste from monthly ration
|
Fear not Newark... your mayor uses Twitter
Russia races to deliver Khodorkovsky sentence
Bolivia fuel hike sparks tensions, government wary
|
Technicolor to issue shares to pay back debt
US-TECH Summary
US-Venezuela row heats up, US revokes envoy visa
Sony sues to block LG from shipping phones to U.S.
Putin praises START treaty but warns on WTO
Global Weather-Celsius
"Toy Story 3," "Social Network" top film review list
N.Korea adds more special troops, tanks: S.Korea
False alarm over suspect package at US embassy to Vatican
China steps up crackdown on Internet phone services
Secret Men's Business 3.5 wins Sydney to Hobart
You couldn't make it up: offbeat stories from 2010
Indians to outnumber Chinese in 2025: US
Sony sues to block LG from shipping phones to U.S.
|
New Year's concert once again in Austrian hands
Asian 'martyrs' underscore poor year for human rights
RIM offers data tapping at India office: report
|
Jackson doctor defense may say singer killed self
Injured Ponting 'devastated' at missing 5th Ashes Test
China shuts over 60,000 porn websites this year
|
"Star Wars" visual effects artist McCune dies
China political satire scores big at box office
Bruno Mars throws "Grenade" to top of singles chart
13 on trial over attack on Christians in Indonesia
American youngster best part of Italian "World"
Michael Jackson executors want TV "autopsy" canceled
Central bankers to meet as Iran, India oil row escalates
China's manufacturing activity slows in December
California woman arrested in insider trading case
|
Pamela Anderson advert too racy for Hong Kong airport
US jazz pianist Billy Taylor dies at 89: report
LG pledges action against patent suit by Sony
Blue Valentine a dreary look at a decayed marriage
Taiwan regulator to check foreign capital operations
China's online population rises to 450 million
Pakistan
Korea Hot Stocks-NHN Corp, car insurers higher
China mulls export quotas on rare earth alloys: report
NZ govt insurer pays out $447 mln on Sept quake claims
S.Korea's industrial output rises in November
Seoul shares rangebound, 2011 recovery hopes rise
Jackson doctor defense may say singer killed self
|
Jazz musician Billy Taylor dies at 89
|
Star Wars visual effects artist McCune dies
|
Bruno Mars throws Grenade to top of singles chart
|
Toy Story 3, Social Network top film review list
|
Singer Edie Brickell resurfaces with two albums
|
Blue Valentine a dreary look at a decayed marriage
|
Michael Jackson executors want TV autopsy canceled
|
American youngster best part of Italian World
|
Taylor Swift, Susan Boyle lead U.S. album chart
|
Bomb kills 14 Afghan civilians
Khodorkovsky faces new prison sentence
Israel's ex-president Katsav guilty of rape
Swiss franc hits record high vs dollar, euro, pound
Nintendo issues age warning on its 3D games
Khodorkovsky sentenced to six more years
|
Afghan bomb blast kills 14 civilians
Denmark terror suspects remanded in custody
Pope acts to tackle money-laundering in Vatican
Danish court charges 3 men with attempted terrorism
|
War-weary South Sudanese exiles reluctant to return
Denmark and Sweden foil 'Mumbai-style' massacre plot
Bruno Mars' "Grenade" Explodes Into The #1 Spot On The Billboard Hot 100 Chart
Israel's ex-president Katsav guilty of rape
|
'At least 10 civilians dead' in Afghanistan blast
Danish terror plot suspects appear in court
Aishwarya Rai Bachnan Suing Elle Magazine For Skin-Lightening Reports Are False
Ivory Coast on brink of genocide: envoy to U.N.
|
US-TECH Summary
Blast kills at least 14 civilians in Afghanistan
Israel revels in gas find but faces export hurdles
|
Ryan Seacrest, Jenny McCarthy Talk Kissing At Midnight, Hosting "New Year's Rockin' Eve" In The Nude
U.S. worried by reports of Pakistan detentions: report
|
Blast kills at least 10 civilians in Afghanistan
Roadside bomb kills 14 Afghans in south
|
10 civilians killed in southern Afghanistan blast
Vatican enacts laws promising financial transparency
|
North Korea threat grows with new forces: South report
|
Islamist sect kills seven in latest Nigeria attack
|
Hundreds flee rising Australian floods
EU 'could end China arms embargo'
North Korea threat grows with new forces
U.S. worried by reports of Pakistan detentions
Malaysia grants public holiday for ASEAN Cup win
RIM dismisses claims of PlayBook battery weakness
|
Russia calls on Koreas to stop "muscle flexing"
Groupon eyes IPO by end of 2011: report
|
Thai "yellow shirts" jailed for TV station attack
Canada is most Web-addicted nation: study
|
Thailand urges Cambodia to free detainees
Crimes targeting foreigners decline in Bali
China defends rare earth quotas as in line with WTO
|
Thai stock index could hit 1,200 but risks remain
Sears, Kmart launch Alpahline online video store
|
Bruno Mars' "Grenade" Explodes Into The #1 Spot On The Billboard Hot 100 Chart
Michael Jackson's Estate Livid Over Discovery Channel's MJ Autopsy Reenactment Special
Man Arrested After Calling 911 On 'The Media'
Palestinians look to Security County to condemn Israeli construction
Boston Properties buy Hancock Tower for $930 million
Ohio Man Sentenced To More Than Two Years In Video Game Piracy Case
Bad weather costs nation's retailers $1 billion in lost post-Christmas sales
A Minute With: Bette Midler on New Year TV special
|
Staff shortage causes slow snow cleanup in New York
Boney M frontman Farrell dies in Russia: agent
|
USDA To Require Nutritional Labels On Meat
NY Law Requiring Graphic Smoking Posters Struck Down
Global concert box office tumbles 12 percent: Pollstar
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights