That being said . . .
Here are some US special forces:
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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| S. Korea's Special Forces 'Vastly Outnumbered' by N. Korea's |
| 2011-01-06 |
| South Korea's special forces have dwindled to the point that they are outnumbered 10:1 by their North Korean counterparts, a military source said Wednesday. The source said the South is trying to find a way of countering the 200,000-strong North Korean special forces "because we found a serious imbalance in their strength in the process of re-evaluating threats from the North" following the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan in March and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November. The North has increased special forces by 80,000 to 200,000 over the past four years. By contrast, the number of the South Korean special forces stands at fewer than 20,000. Under a troop reduction plan during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, one of the Army's three Special Assault Commandos that are responsible for responding to North Korea's infiltration from the rear has already been disbanded. Each commando has about 1,200 troops. Over the past years, the North has focused on boosting light infantry units capable of infiltrating rapidly into the South through the frontline area. The South should have reinforced these special elite units to deal with the threat but has instead reduced them. The Army's Special Warfare Command, whose main duties are to infiltrate into the rear area and destroy strategic targets in the North in an emergency, has about 10,000 troops. South Korea's special forces units include the SACs, the SWC, the Navy UDT/SEAL, the Marine Corps' special search team, and the Air Force's combat controllers. At least 1,000 SWC troops are always on standby for dispatch abroad and therefore exempt from basic duties. Recognizing the seriousness of the matter, not only has the military been reviewing it, but a presidential defense committee has proposed boosting special forces. But no concrete plans have been presented yet. "The times demand that we boost special forces to cope with new security threats such as terrorist threats, as well as threats from the North's special troops," a government source said. "Top military brass need to try harder to work out a response as soon as possible." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 Note a Norwegian icebreaker had already done the heavy lifting. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-01-06 15:59 |
| #10 #9 - Contaminate the food stockpiles with a strong, long-lasting cathartic & the invasion will end rather abruptly. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-01-06 15:53 |
#9 South Korea might be wise to make sure there are no stockpiles of food, weapons or ammo too close to the border that would be useful to invading Norks. Or they could plant stockpiles of food and clothing in the most likely paths in order to stall the offense while the troops loot. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2011-01-06 15:42 |
| #8 South Korea might be wise to make sure there are no stockpiles of food, weapons or ammo too close to the border that would be useful to invading Norks. That being said . . . Here are some US special forces: |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-01-06 11:02 |
| #7 Know your enemy. The "Special Forces" of NKor are mainly there as the most loyal troops, and their primary duty is to maintain control of the country, and to be able to put down any military uprisings by the regular forces -- which Shieldwolf points out, was the same role the RG held for Saddam in Iraq. There do exist in this group, in limited numbers, some "Commando" types, a few thousand that that approximate Marines in terms of discpline and amphib training, and a smaller number that approximate Army Rangers in terms of unconventional insertion training. Very few of them are trained and equipped to western "Special Forces" standards, and probably only a handful even come close to the level of SAS, Green Berets or SEALs. So make no mistake about it - these "special" forces are special mainly in their loyalty to the Government. For this, they get better food, housing and newer equipment, and they are nearly completely isolated from any contact with normal North Korean society and economy. They still cannot afford the ammunition, fuel and other supplies to train properly. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2011-01-06 09:40 |
| #6 That's a very good point Shieldwolf, thanks for that. |
| Posted by: kojack 2011-01-06 07:04 |
| #5 Bizarre military drill by semi-naked soldiers Half dressed and screaming, members of the South Korean Special Forces brave bitterly icy waters in a test of strength and endurance. |
| Posted by: tipper 2011-01-06 04:32 |
| #4 ION PEOPLES DAILY > [old]REPORT: CHINA SHIFTING NUCLEAR RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. Preemptive Nuc Strike option as preceded by intitial Conventional forces warning. * SAME > THE LOST JAPAN MUST LOOK BEYOND ALLIANCE, as per wid ROK. TOKYO must completely change or reconsider its views on CHINA. * SAME > CHINA HAS PLANS FOR FIVE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-01-06 02:11 |
| #3 The North Korean Special Forces are like the former Iraqi Republican Guards - slightly better trained, better housed, better equipped, and better fed than the line troops. They are NOT SOCOM material, or the functional equivalent of the USMC or the ROK Marines. Just because a communist nation calls their troops Special Forces does not make them Special Forces. Besides which, does anyone believe that with a population 1/15 of the US that North Korea could have an actual SOCOM force of 200,000? We cannot get that many Special Forces troops with our large population and military budget. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-01-06 01:46 |
| #2 No matter. Kim emptied all of the Military grain stores over 3 months ago. 200,000 starving midgets will not over-run any country. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-01-06 01:12 |
| #1 Does anyone think those 200,000 troops are as competent or more competent than (for instance) ROK marines? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-01-06 01:00 |