Koreas discuss moving artillery pieces
Arsenal along border could strike Seoul area
SEOUL, South Korea — The rival Koreas are discussing the possible relocation of North Korea’s longrange artillery guns away from the tense Korean border, South Korea’s prime minister said Monday, as the countries forge ahead with steps to lower tensions and extend a recent detente.
If realized, it would be yet another conciliatory step by North Korea since it entered talks on giving up its nuclear weapons this year. But some experts say it might be a tactic to push Seoul and Washington to withdraw their more sophisticated artillery systems from front-line areas.
In a speech marking the 68th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said that “moving (North Korea’s) long-range artillery to the rear is under discussion,” as he explained what types of goodwill steps have been taken in recent months.
Lee’s comments appeared to be Seoul’s first official confirmation of media reports that South Korea demanded that North Korea reposition its forward-deployed artillery pieces during inter-korean military talks on June 14.
North Korea has deployed an estimated 1,000 artillery pieces and rockets along the 155-mile border, putting the Seoul metropolitan area within its striking distance.
Many experts have called the North Korean artillery threats “significant” because it can inflict massive casualties and devastate much of Seoul before the much-better-equipped U.S. and South Korean militaries could fully respond.
But there are also views that such an assessment may be an exaggeration as the North’s artillery guns in general have poor accuracy and cannot destroy hard concrete structures.
North Korea’s pullout of its artillery would be “meaningless” or a symbolic “gesture for peace,” Lee said.
South Korean media speculated that during the June 14 military talks, North Korea likely demanded that South Korea and the United States withdraw their own artillery systems from the border as a reciprocal measure.
On Monday, military officers of the two Koreas met and agreed to fully restore their military hotline communication channels, the South’s Defense Ministry said.