U.S. Seals and South Korea Come Up With Plan to Deal With North Korean Attack

The United States signed an agreement with South Korea in an effort to join forces against North Korea, according to the New York Times.

The “mutual defense treaty”, as the Times calls it, mandates the U.S. fight alongside the South in the case of a war. According to Al Jezeera, the plan has been in the making since 2010 after North Korea attacked the South killing four people.

The two sides called the agreement “South-Korea led, U.S.-supported,” according to the Times. The plan outlined a bunch of situations in which Korea would provoke a situation, and the U.S.-South Korean tandem would respond. According to South Korean officials, putting the agreement on paper will serve as a warning to North Korea.

“By completing this plan, we improved our combined readiness posture to allow us to immediately and decisively respond to any North Korean provocation,” the two sides said in a joint statement.

According to the Times, the two sides declined to give out any more details of the on the subject. They would not say exactly how the far the U.S. would go in supporting North Korea.

Over the past few weeks, South Korea has made comments indicating it will take a firm stand against North Korea. According to the Times the South says that if North Korea makes a move, the South will fight back. They will respond to the original point of attack, as well as “its supporting forces and its commanding post.”

South Korea is currently recovering from a recent attack by hackers, in which nine of the nations companies fell victim to technical difficulties. Many South Koreans suspected the North of launching the attack. However, as the investigation continues, no proof has been found.

According to Al Jezeera, there are currently 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.