US commandos train for the unexpected in N Korea’s shadow

GWANGJU, South Korea: U.S. special operations troops in South Korea are training and preparing for unexpected threats at a time when global crises are more interconnected than ever, their commander said during an exercise this week.

“Nothing in the history of the United States should give us any faith and confidence that we know where the next threat is coming from,” Brigadier General Derek Lipson of Special Operations Command - Korea said in an interview on the sidelines of joint drills.

Nuclear-armed North Korea in recent years has made unprecedented strides in its weapons programs, including massive new ballistic missiles that can reach the United States and speedy new tactical missiles designed to defeat missile defence systems.

For the first time, North Korean missiles have been fired in combat, with Russia wielding them this year against targets in Ukraine, according to U.S. officials and independent experts.

And in Asia, Korea joins the South China Sea and Taiwan as flashpoints with the potential to involve the region and the world.

Because of that uncertainty, Lipson is trying to inject more flexibility and decision making into his troops’ training - not just how to shoot a rifle, as he puts it, but deciding when and where.

North Korea has condemned the stepped-up joint drills as provocative rehearsals for invasion and proof of hostile intent by Washington and its allies.

Adding to this year’s unpredictability are the upcoming U.S. elections, which are being closely watched around the world.

Lipson said that although politics play a role in military matters, his job is to ensure his troops are ready regardless of who the president is.

During drills on Thursday, a U.S. special operations MC-130 aircraft practiced airdrops with a brigade of South Korean commandos.

As the grey turboprop aircraft circled over the Republic of Korea Special Warfare School Training Range near Gwangju, South Korean troops and a handful of Americans toppled from its doors, jerking and swinging as their parachutes opened.

One U.S. special operations liaison soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because his identity is operationally sensitive, said it demonstrated that the allies can work together in a conflict.

Since 2016, U.S. special operations forces have been tasked with countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a role with particular relevance given North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal. U.S. intelligence services say Pyongyang also operates biological and chemical weapons programs.

Lipson said advances in North Korea’s capabilities would change how a mission might be executed.

The U.S. special operations presence in Korea has grown from about 50 active-duty personnel 25 years ago to a Theater Special Operations Command with some 250 personnel, said David Maxwell, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who served multiple tours in South Korea.

In a war, their role could involve countering WMD, combat and reconnaissance missions, supporting guerrilla forces in the North, psychological operations, and post-conflict counterinsurgency, Maxwell said.

Lipson said a key part of special operations in South Korea was to work with other partners around the region.

“Nothing happens in this theatre, greater INDOPACOM area or even globally at this point, that doesn’t have an impact somewhere else,” Lipson said.