SEOUL, Sept. 23 (UPI) — South Korea’s military confirmed it is organizing a special-forces team that could destroy major weapons facilities in North Korea and that North Korean military movements were captured on surveillance when tensions escalated in August.
Cmdr. Jang Gyeong-seok of Seoul’s Unconventional Warfare Task Force said Wednesday the military is aware of relevant regions in North Korea that could be targets, South Korean news outlet Money Today reported.
Jang said one of six special-forces troops is being assembled to conduct independent missions to target key military areas in North Korea, but in certain infiltration scenarios, Seoul would need to work jointly with U.S. troops in combat service support.
Jang said the military also is preparing special-ops aviation forces and that air force equipment including fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft have been procured.
Speaking during the parliamentary audit held before the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, South Korean opposition party lawmaker Yoon Hu-deok said frontline military troops had confirmed it had captured North Korean movements ahead of provocative shelling in August.
On Aug. 20, as North Korean troops prepared to fire shells across the demilitarized zone at South Korean troops stationed in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi province, the South’s military already had detected the movements across the border. Front-line troops went on high alert and subsequently contacted Seoul’s artillery unit, which exchanged fire with the North.
Yoon said the South’s military was able to keep track of the North’s movements using wiretaps, and said the relevant commanders should be awarded for their bravery, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
