Russian analysts have recently expressed concern about the destruction of South Korean nuclear sites, through either covert sabotage or direct attack.
North Korea is well known for a few military capabilities: missiles, (which the ROK and U.S. say they've got covered with Patriots and Aegis destroyers), artillery, and a 200,000-strong force ofSpecial Purpose operators.
While an all-out artillery barrage might be too aggressive, recent reports have warned of a tactical strike or possibly something "sneaky and creative."
From a piece in RIA Novosti:
Radioactive fallout from South Korean nuclear plants blown up by enemy saboteurs could be, for Russia, the worst consequence of a possible Korean war – should one happen, Russian analysts said.
The four running nuclear plants, which produce roughly a third of South Korea's energy needs, represent such a danger to Russia and China that President Vladimir Putin said their destruction would make “Chernobyl … seem like child’s play.”
The ROK's plants all sit on the coasts, making it an easy-to-reach prospect for North Korean maritime raid forces. Though nuclear security is likely very high, North Korean commandos should not be brushed aside lightly.
They have a vast network of spies, and have been accused of several hundred abductions, to include the high-visibility kidnapping of a South Korean actress and her director husband.
They've also used stealthy means to steal their way into South Korean territory, often for assassinations, and once even to attempt a direct assault on the president.
Still, most analysts say to expect a light skirmish, that North Korea dare not risk elevating tension to an all-out war — if anything, simply out of self-preservation.
“Expecting a war just because of North Korean statements is like expecting rapture in the immediate future just because the Pope gave a sermon about sin in the world,” Andrei Lankov, a Russian expert in Korean studies who teaches at the Kookmin University in Seoul, quipped to RIA Novosti.
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