Commander: N. Korea an unconventional threat

Commander: N. Korea an unconventional threat: "North Korea is turning to newer military means, such as improvised explosive devices left on roadsides, that could be used in its decades-long conflict with South Korea, the top U.S. commander in Korea, Army Gen. Walter Sharp, told reporters Sept. 29.But Sharp said the most immediate threat from North Korea is continued provocations such as missile tests and cyber attacks.‘I think the North Koreans probably realized they could not win in a normal, conventional, all-out attack,’ Sharp said.

The U.S. is responding to unconventional threats by helping South Korea stand up its own cyber command.U.S. troops also have been forced to ‘make sure we’re learning the lessons out of Iraq and Afghanistan with IEDs and other types of devices,’ Sharp said. He did not elaborate on where the devices might be used by the North Koreans.‘I’m confident that they will use those capabilities,’ he said.During the next two years, U.S. and South Korean forces will focus on integrating chains of command, as South Korea prepares to assume overall wartime command by 2012, Sharp said.The change should not have much impact on airmen in Korea, Sharp said.The U.S. and South Korea air forces already share an air operations center to manage daily missions and monitor North Korea, and even after 2012, the U.S. Air Force commander for Korea will continue to be the wartime air boss for both militaries, he said."

(Via Air Force Times - News.)