This is all sorts of interesting:
South Korea said Thursday it would create a combined army unit with the United States, reportedly tasked with destroying North Korea's weapons of mass destruction in the event of an all-out conflict.
The mechanised unit led by a US major general will be set up in the first half of next year, the South's defence ministry said, as part of elaborate preparations for any future war between the two Koreas. ...
In the event of a full-scale conflict, the combined unit would absorb a mechanised South Korean brigade and forces from the US division, which is armed with helicopters and other advanced weapons.
A mechanized unit is designed to fight through heavy opposition.
It is envisioned to be a division-sized force outside of 2nd Infantry Division using that division's reinforced American combined arms heavy brigade already there with an aviation and artillery component, and a reinforcing South Korean mechanized brigade. Plus whatever American reinforcements that make it to South Korea before the order is given (which might be Marines from the western Pacific, I suppose).
It will be headquartered at Pyeongtaek, well south of Seoul:
The combined division will eventually move to Pyeongtaek as the 2nd Infantry Division shifts to Camp Humphreys as part of a long-planned relocation of most Army forces on the peninsula to regional hubs.
Away from the frontline, it will not bear the brunt of fighting at the DMZ if war breaks out.
It is interesting that the new headquarters will draw on these units (normally we figure a division headquarters could control up to 5 maneuver brigades) while leaving the parent units from America and South Korea intact. Second Division units and South Korean units could fight under their own flag for conventional missions or under the new division flag for "strategic operations."
This is well beyond South Korea's development of longer-ranged missiles to shoot at North Korean artillery, rocket, and missile (including nuclear) assets and even beyond the idea of carving out a no-launch zone north of the DMZ to protect Seoul from conventional or chemical bombardment.
North Korea's military is rotting away and except for pockets of units, spends more time on civilian projects and farming just to eat than preparing to invade South Korea.
So a heavy unit may be able to cut through to North Korea's nuclear sites to identify and disable nuclear weapons before they can be launched if air attacks can't neutralize them.
The next step is to task the entire South Korean armed forces and supporting American units to march on Pyongyang.
Then the race would be on.
