Page 119 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

concurrently with President Kim Jong-Un seeking to take over
South Korea by force. Such a possibility would be even more
concerning if the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in Israel are
still raging. According to top military sources, U.S. military
resources and readiness would be too depleted and thin to
handle all of these conflicts simultaneously. Thus, the U.S.
should prepare its military for such potential challenges, lest it
find itself shorthanded, spread too thinly, and underprepared.

We should be cognizant that the world’s four largest militaries
have a record of being involved on the Korean Peninsula. The
Soviet Union, after all, formed North Korea and was its main
patron until it could not sustain it. The CCP then stepped
into that vacuum. Chinese soldiers pouring into North
Korea prevented the U.S.-led UN coalition from reuniting
the Peninsula during the Korean War. It goes without saying
that the U.S. has the most outstanding military, but many
people are surprised to hear that North Korea has the 4th
largest military in total units, although many of these units
are older and not as technologically advanced. With that said,
a conflagration on the Korean Peninsula could ignite a Third
World War. Trilateral security and intelligence cooperation
between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. is emerging
following the groundbreaking Camp David Summit held
during August in 2023. This quasi-alliance should act as a
counterbalance to the dangerous consequences mentioned
above, and more that will inevitably arise if the tension among
nations is maintained, or even increased.

118 Section II : Human Rights, Abductees, Forced Repatriation of Refugees and the Regional Implications