Two-thirds of North Korea’s submarine fleet was reportedly on the move and off of Seoul’s sonar this week despite an announcement by the two Koreas that they were ratcheting down the saber rattling that followed a land mine explosion in the demilitarized zone earlier this month.
More than 50 North Korean subs, believed to represent about 70 percent of Pyongyang’s fleet — were still unaccounted for Wednesday in a potentially ominous development that a spokesman for South Korea's Defense Ministry called "unprecedented." Seoul and the U.S., which maintains a strong presence in South Korea, responded by increasing military surveillance.
"The number is nearly 10 times the normal level … we take the situation very seriously," Kim Min-seok, the defense ministry spokesman, said Tuesday.
The submarines initially left their ports at the height of the crisis, and the motive behind their deployment was not known, said Scott Snyder, of the Council on Foreign Relations.
"It is not clear whether this is a defensive or offensive move; thus it requires continued watchfulness," Snyder said.
South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a military official as saying the country was "mobilizing all our surveillance resources" to find the missing subs. Yonhap also reported that the submarines, which slipped away from their bases on Friday, likely had returned to naval bases in North Korea. But until they are accounted for, officials say their is concern on the seas surrounding the peninsula.
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9 comments:
British tactics,spreading subs all over the globe to promote the illusion of a threat.Desperation tactics.
Sounds like someone was sleeping on watch. Bad time to loose contact with so many.
Right. Their subs are some of the noisiest ones in the ocean. South Korea may not know where they are, but you can bet that we do.
I thought I saw one while I was at OC while ago.It was about a mile and a half out.
Its hard to believe they have 70.
That was probably the Russians, 2:40. :-)
I wouldn't want to be the North Korean Soldier fireman, that has to keep shoveling the coal into the furnace of one of their subs.
maybe they disappeared into the Chinese submarine tunnels they have been building. don't underestimate the capability of their submarines
Dont under estimate a marshmallow at high speed either.
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