The government of North Korea has ramped up its readiness level in the wake of the Cheonan sinking. The Cheonan was the South Korean Naval vessel which was sank several weeks ago. A subsequent investigation revealed that a North Korean torpedo was the cause of the sinking. The North Korean Government has denied any involvement whatsoever in the incident and maintains that any response from South Korea or her allies will result in an all out war. Both Koreas have actually increased their alert posture in response to the tensions in the area, and North Korea is probably expecting some kind of military retaliation for the incident.

The two countries are still technically at war since they never came to a peace agreement after they actively fought in the 1950s. There are many incidents which occur to this day that the general public is not aware of as both countries maintain a strong presence along the Demilitarized Zone which separates the two countries. The DMZ is heavily fortified along the entire border of the countries and each country makes regular attempts to insert spies. Citizens also constantly attempt to infiltrate from one country to the other which only serves to heighten tensions.

Both countries conduct regular propaganda campaigns which will include loudspeaker and radio broadcasts, and the dropping of leaflets over the territory of the other country. Propaganda is always aimed at creating disillusionment among the members of the population of the other country in order to destabilize its government.

The North Koreans have dug many tunnels under the DMZ to utilize if they ever decide to attack South Korea. The South Korean Government is aware of many of the tunnels and keep watch over them, but there are surely many more that they are not aware of. Many of the tunnels are filled with supplies which the infiltrating North Korean Army will need for their attack on South Korea.

The South Korean Government on the other hand has had many years to prepare and refine the defenses of its country. I as an artilleryman who was once stationed there can assure you that if the North Koreans did decide to attack it wouldnt be a cakewalk for them. The South Korean side of the border is dotted with many marked target areas, and killing zones. Any force which would attack would have a hard time crossing over the fortifications which the South Koreans use to slow them down. While the North Korean soldiers are attempting to cross the obstacles they will be in a position where they will easily picked off by enemy fire.

The artillery targets in South Korea are carefully laid out and marked on the ground. Their well trained soldiers can easily adjust fires onto advancing troops. They have a wide variety of weapons trained at each and every target and are ready to fire at a moments notice. They conduct regular speed and accuracy drills to insure that they can perform in the way that they need to in order to stop an attack.

Both sides conduct a wide range of surveillance activities to monitor the other side. The most visible type of surveillance includes manned outposts, but there are many other types of surveillance which include patrols, cameras, motion detectors, and aerial reconnaissance. Each side also sends patrols into the unmanned area next to the DMZ to monitor the activities of the other side. The United States is responsible for monitoring the central corridor of the South Korean side of the border. This is the most likely area of attack because of the natural valley which exists there. The Second Infantry Division is the American unit assigned permanently to help guard the South Korean portion of the peninsula. Military Ring Express