SOUTH Korea could mount swift and precise attacks on North Korea's nuclear bases should war break out on the peninsula, Seoul's incoming top military officer said today.
General Lee Sang-Eui, named as next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Seoul had a list of major targets its forces would strike first should a conflict erupt.
Nuclear weaponry would pose the greatest threat, he told a parliamentary confirmation hearing, pledging to "mobilise all means available to precisely and swiftly strike'' such bases.
New Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young told his own confirmation hearing last week that Seoul knew where the North was storing its nuclear arsenal.
Mr Kim said Seoul could strike the sites through quick consultations with Washington if North Korea tried to fire a nuclear weapon at the South.
General Lee, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said the North was believed to have up to 40kg of plutonium, enough to build at least six nuclear bombs.
After months of hostility including missile and nuclear tests, Pyongyang began making peace noises to Washington and Seoul in August.
South Korean officials have expressed scepticism about the overtures, saying the hardline communist state has not changed its fundamental attitude.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan accused the North last week of developing nuclear weapons to launch an attack on the South and "communise'' the peninsula.-theaustralian.news.com.au
