PAThe Deputy Commander of US Forces Korea has said US troops are vastly outnumbered and would be ill-supplied if war broke out in North Korea.
Lieutenant General Jan-Marc Jouas said the US could be overwhelmed by North Korean numbers in documents leaked to Congress.
He said US forces could face problems in getting reinforcements or supplies to the Korean peninsula.
Getty ImagesUS troops would be up against ‘North Korean forces, as well as allied forces that will conduct the overwhelming majority of fighting’ the Lt General said, according to the Daily Star.
He added:
[US troops] may well find their bases subject to attack by conventional or chemical weapons, which will further delay their entry into the war.
An enormous casualty and evacuee crisis will develop and include more than 100,000 non-combatant Americans, many of who will turn to US forces to get them off the peninsula
Terrifyingly the leaked document suggests North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un may fire nuclear weapons at the US and its allies.
Figures obtained by US think-tank, the Council of Foreign Relations, suggest 1.1 million North Koreans would fight to the death if faced with invasion by any external force despite being woefully underfunded compared to any potential enemy.
PA ImagesThe Council of Foreign Relations said:
Although Pyongyang is outspent by its neighbours in dollar-to-dollar comparisons and defence experts say it operates with raging equipment and technology, the regime’s forward-deployed military position and missiles aimed at Seoul ensure that Pyongyang’s conventional capabilities remain a constant threat to its southern neighbour.
The latest revelations may have had a part in Trump’s recent extrordinary offer to talk to North Korea. The US president is currently on a tour of Asia.
President Trump rowed back on his previous tough stance, saying last week:
It makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for their people and for the world.
Only last month North Korea said Trump had lit ‘the wick of war’ and vowed to ‘settle the final score with a hail of fire, not words.’
Foreign minister to Kim Jong-un, Ri Yong-ho, made a lethal threat previously unseen following Trump’s controversial appearance at the United Nations summit in September.
According to the Daily Mail, Ri said:
With his bellicose and insane statement at the United Nations, Trump, you can say, has lit the wick of a war against us.
We need to settle the final score, only with a hail of fire, not words.
Ri has previously labelled the US president as ‘President Evil’ amid missile tests undertaken by the rogue nation.
One of those tests included an explosion of a hydrogen bomb.
WikipediaHowever, actions may indeed speak louder than words, as Trump, has sent three of the US Navy’s biggest aircraft carriers to stage joint drills in the Western Pacific Ocean, for the first time in ten years.
The US Navy confirmed drills would be taking place ‘in international waters’ as tensions between North Korea and the United States, along with their allies, continue to mount.
Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.