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If North Korea were to attack the South, with long-range artillery deployed along the Demilitarized Zone, one-third of Seoul would be destroyed within an hour, according to latest research.
Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Park Jin disclosed details of a report by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) to the Ministry of National Defense on Monday during the National Assembly's audit and inspection of state affairs. According to the report, which was compiled from last January to April, 1,000 long-range artillery out of a total 12,500 North Korean artillery units are currently targeting South Korea's capital city of Seoul. This means that at full capacity, 25,000 shells could be fired in an hour, laying waste to one-third of Seoul in that time.
If South Korea did not receive air support from the U.S., Seoul would be razed in less than 16 days.
The Defense Ministry said that Lawmaker Park was referring to a scenario drawn up to test the country's military weak spots. The ministry added that it was a worst-case scenario and that the chances of such a thing happening were remote.
(Jang Il-hyun, ihjang@chosun.com )
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