US Defence Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged US concerns about the potential for instability in North Korea amid reports its leader suffered a stroke.But Gates, who said it was unclear how seriously ill Kim Jong-Il is, foresaw no repercussions on US military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, even if conflict erupts on the Korean peninsula.
“In terms of our military forces it’s irrelevant,” he told reporters in London, where he was holding informal talks with his NATO counterparts Thursday and Friday.
“The way things have evolved in Korea, if there ever should be a conflict, the main American contributions is not ground forces. So the connection with Afghanistan and Iraq, I think is irrelevant,” Gates said.
Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was reported to have suffered a stroke, raising questions about who is in charge in North Korea, a secretive Stalinist state that claims to have nuclear weapons.
“We are watching it very closely. We are concerned about instability,” Gates said.
“I think all of North Korea’s neighbors are concerned about instability in no small part because of the possibility of large flows of refugees,” he added.
“So we are looking at that, but at this point it is not entirely clear how seriously ill he is, what the circumstances are.”
US military leaders have warned that the large commitment of US ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has meant increased risk in responding to crises elsewhere.
The United States halted a drawdown of US ground troops from South Korea earlier this year amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programs. There are currently 28,500 US troops there.
But in recent years the US military has shifted its posture in Korea, pulling US ground forces away from front-line positions and relying more on air and naval power to support South Korea’s large, well trained army.
(Source: www.spacewar.com)
Filed under: Politician, War & terror | Tagged: North Korea, us
