The Marmot’s Hole

By SHELTON BUMGARNER
FNY Guest Blogger

Sometimes, it’s enough to make you think the Powers That Be use daisies to decide what will happen next here in Korea. “The DPRK loves me, it loves me not.”

I mean, come on guys, make up your minds.

On one hand, we have this bit of news:

UIJONGBU, South Korea � In this city that lies between Seoul and the border with North Korea, an odd-looking gatelike structure rises above the main street, ready to be dismantled. It still supports what seems to the naked eye to be several tons of concrete that serve no particular purpose beyond casting a shadow over approaching cars and the small shops nearby.

[...]

As for the odd-looking structure itself, although Jung Bin believed it was “some construction project,” Ji Su’s parents had told her that it was, in fact, an antitank fortification.

In the event of an invasion, explosives would blow up the fortification and send concrete blocks crashing down to form an instant barricade. This would slow North Korean tanks that presumably would be barreling down this road to Seoul, just 12 miles to the south, the way they did on the second day of the Korean War.

But in yet another sign of the easing of tensions between the Koreas and the changing nature of warfare, South Korean workers began dismantling the fortification at Uijongbu (pronounced wee-jong-boo) last month and are expected to finish tearing it down before spring. A second one is to be demolished by the end of the year, and the last four are expected to go in the next few years.

Indeed, several cities with roads leading to Seoul have quietly started doing the same in recent months, after getting the South Korean military’s permission. One by one, these structures that were considered, variously over the decades, as shields against Communism, protectors of the free world, traffic nuisances or environmental eyesores, are disappearing from the landscape.

And on the other, we have this:

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean forces could defeat North Korea’s army, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday, but figuring out the secretive state’s military policy is a difficult challenge.

[...]

“We are fully capable today of defeating any North Korean aggression and we will maintain that capacity,” General Peter Pace told reporters.

Pace said that, in defining a threat, the United States looked at the capability and capacity of a potential enemy as well as how they intended to use their military strength.

“Understanding the intent of the North Korean regime is very difficult,” Pace said. “Not knowing what their intent is, you need to be prepared to counter if their intent is ill.”

U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte told a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday North Korea and Iran “have the highest collection priority throughout the intelligence community” because of their nuclear ambitions and the possibility they could be involved in proliferation.

Well, which is it guys? Peace or war? Peace or war?