South Korea claims plan to remove North Korea capital from the map

SOUTH Korea has a plan to reduce North Korea’s capital “to ashes and removed from the map” if it shows any sign of a nuclear attack.

A South Korean army's K1 tank moves during an annual exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on September 11, 2016. Picture: AP / Ahn Young-joon

SOUTH Korea has devised a plan to destroy North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, through intensive bombing if the communist regime shows signs of launching a nuclear attack.

“Every Pyongyang district, particularly where the North Korean leadership is possibly hidden, will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high explosive shells as soon as the North shows any signs of using a nuclear weapon. In other words, the North’s capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map,” reported South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing a military official.

The details of the operation came to light after the South Korean Defence Ministry unveiled the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan in front of the National Assembly in response to the latest nuclear test by North Korea.

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The plan is to carry out pre-emptive strikes against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the country’s military leadership if any signs of an imminent use of nuclear weapons is detected or in case of a war, the official explained. In such a scenario, South Korea will deploy its Hyunmoo 2A and Hyunmoo 2B ballistic missiles, with a range of between 300 and 500 kilometres as well as the Hyunmoo-3 cruise missiles with a range of 1000 kilometres.

In mid-August, Seoul announced its intention to significantly boost its arsenal of missiles to counter the growing military threat from North Korea. Another source cited by Yonhap said Seoul recently set up a special unit in charge of targeting North Korea’s top military leadership and “launching retaliatory attacks on them.”

South Korea's Chun-ma (C), a Self-Propelled Surface to Air Missile System, moves during an equipment demonstration in Goyang, north of Seoul, on September 10, 2016. Picture: AFP / Jung Yeon-Je

North Korea conducted its fifth and largest-ever nuclear test on Friday, claiming it had tested a nuclear warhead that can be fitted onto missiles.

South Korean army soldiers walk by a signboard showing the distance to the North Korean capital Pyongyang and to South's capital Seoul from Imjingang Station near the border village of the Panmunjom in Paju, on September 11, 2016. Picture: AP/ Ahn Young-joon