South Korean troops told to pull the trigger if provoked: Will this increase or decrease the possibility of a renewed war?

2015-08-19T11:37:57-04:00

South Korean military leaders instructed troops on Tuesday to retaliate, and one general has said they should "boldly pull the trigger" if the North incites a provocation.
The remarks from South Korean commanders inspecting different front lines follow weeks of tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang that have escalated after exploding land mines inside the area injured two South Korean soldiers. North Korea has denied any involvement.
Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon of South Korea's Marine Corps said any provocation from the North should be met with an immediate response with a pull of the trigger, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"If the North provokes, put all the grievances about the Cheonan ship torpedoing, the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the latest DMZ wooden-box mine explosion under the name of the Marine Corps and retaliate," Lee said.
Another South Korean military commander said North Korea is fearful of Seoul's renewed propaganda campaigns. Pyongyang recently said it has begun broadcasting anti-Seoul messages across the DMZ but the move is believed to be a measure against Seoul's broadcasts from reaching ordinary North Koreans.
"The reason why North Korea is reacting sensitively to psychological warfare is our psychological operations pose fears bigger than those posed by any other high-tech weapons," said Choi Yoon-hee, the chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On Tuesday, North Korea again urged for the suspension of U.S.-South Korea joint drills, South Korea television network SBS reported, and offered a concession in return.
"If the joint drills to invade North Korea are stopped, and an atmosphere of reconciliation and unity materializes, the sight of relatives meeting to share their affections will unfold naturally at [Kumgangsan]," North Korea said in a statement published in Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday.
In the statement, North Korea also blamed South Korean President Park Geun-hye for creating tensions between the two Koreas and called her "a premature politician," "submissive traitor" and "visually impaired."

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South Korea Troops Instructed to 'Pull the Trigger' Upon Provocation

South Korean military leaders instructed troops on Tuesday to retaliate, and one general has said they should "boldly pull the trigger" if the North incites a provocation.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Aug 19 at 2015 12:02 PM

2015-08-19T12:02:43-04:00

It will probably not precipitate a war Pyongyang is not prepared to start anyway. Backing down to tyrants' provocations has never been a road to peace.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Aug 19 at 2015 12:58 PM

2015-08-19T12:58:25-04:00

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member As usual we will go through this period of propaganda on both countries’ part. This seems to happen every time we hold joint exercises with the South Koreans. I don't think anything will happen except for the "hot air" going back and forth. South Korea is always brave in its comments because of the USA Backing. Let's hope that the "hot air" never turns into actual hostilities, otherwise you could see the beginning of WWIII in my opinion. I don't think the Chinese would sit by idol if it did come to military action!

Response by MSgt John Grollimund made Aug 19 at 2015 1:36 PM

2015-08-19T13:36:14-04:00

If memory serves.. (50/50 chance there) there was never an actual peace treaty signed.. both sides just stopped shooting one day. Renewed war is probably the best term.

IF shots are fired, my fear is that it would bring the entire world back to the doorstep of someplace that many vets have strong rejection to. A peace keeping mission that turned to "training" the turned into many American lives lost, with no victor.

Saddam was once a valued "ally" against the Iranian regime. How far would we be expected to go?

Response by SPC William Weedman made Aug 19 at 2015 9:21 PM

2015-08-19T21:21:01-04:00

I suspect this is frustration by the senior South Korean military leadership. The South Koreans generally have not struck back at the North for provocations, often at the urging of both Washington & Eighth Army HQ. As a soldier I would be frustrated to if I were constantly poked and not allowed to strike back. I'm certain South Korea turning on the loudspeakers again has shaken the North's confidence since that seems to be South Korea's response to the North's demand that joint exercises be called off. This comment by this general will be heard in the North, at least by the military leadership. We all know the promise of family reunion is and always will be a red herring. Except for 1 or 2 occasions during which the South gave the North a lot of hard currency to fund it's nuclear programs, there have not been any reunions of the families separated by the war. If we called off the exercises the North would find another reason to back out of the reunions and once again leave these families in pain, each blaming the other countries government for the lack of reunion. For more perspective, during Vietnam, a very low intensity conflict was started in the DMZ as the public opinion turned against the Vietnam War. Kim Il Sung rightly guessed that provocations across the DMZ would not cause serious retaliation by the US Army in particular and by extension the ROK military. The US added forces to our sector of the DMZ and authorized hazardous duty pay and the wear of patches on the right sleeve, but did not pursue conflict to end this period. It ended on it's own in the early 1970s about the same time we were withdrawing our combat troops from Vietnam.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 20 at 2015 10:09 AM

2015-08-20T10:09:21-04:00

An update to this:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/asia/koreas-tensions/

Artillery fire exchanged this morning.

North Korea orders border troops into 'wartime state' - CNN.com

North and South Korea exchanged\ fire over their heavily fortified border, the South Korean Defense Ministry says.