N. Korea completes military bunkers across Yeonpyeong Island

N. Korea completes military bunkers across Yeonpyeong Island. May. 26, 2015 07:20. ysh1005@donga.com.

North Korea recently completed the construction of more than five military facilities in the form of bunker on its island of Gal-do right across the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong-do in the Yellow Sea, it was confirmed on Monday. Concern is mounting over the North’s possible act of provocation because the North staged nighttime artillery drills near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea on May 13 and 14, and threatened targeted strikes at South Korean naval vessels.

Recently, Pyongyang has been stepping up efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, while reinforcing its capability in conventional weapons this year. The North claimed that its means of nuclear attacks entered the phase of (nuclear warhead) size reduction and type diversification on Wednesday last week, when it cancelled its approval of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the North after conducting recently the undersea test firing of submarine-launched ballistic missile. Pyongyang threatened on the day that “(The world) should not challenge our (North Korea’s) justifiable measure to increase our self-defense capability.” Pyongyang thus warned the South of the possibility that it would for the time being create tension through the stance of confrontation, rather than the mood of inter-Korean reconciliation.

The South Korean Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff are keeping a close watch on the North’s move, judging chances are high that the North’s facilities in the form of bunkers on Gal-do island are designed as facilities for surprise attacks on the South, including bases for coastal artillery guns to launch surprise attacks on Yeonpyeong Island or to strike South Korean naval vessels near the Northern Limit Line, the de-facto inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea. Sources say that more than five such facilities were built at various locations of the island, and signs of construction of additional facilities were also spotted.

Earlier, the North had been conducting construction work including ground-breaking by dispatching manpower and equipment to Gal-do since end-March this year.

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The South Korean military judge chances are high that the North will deploy coastal guns and long-range artillery guns on Gal-do. If North Korean artillery troops are deployed on Gal-do, the island will become a base for shortest-distance attacks on the South targeting South Korean islands and islets in the Yellow Sea. There is also a chance that the North will constantly station military troops on the bunkers, and thus use the facilities as bases for surveillance of South Korea similar in concept to island guide posts on the frontline inter-Korean border.