North Korea successfully launched a launch vehicle in November 2023 to put a reconnaissance satellite into low-earth orbit, which attracted South Korea's attention.
At the meeting, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the striking point that the North Korean regime would not survive in the event of a North Korean attack on South Korea, and that South Korea would lead the Korean Peninsula to achieve "the reunification of a liberal democratic order."
In addition, if "certain countries" again support the DPRK, as they did in 1950, then these countries will be retaliated against by South Korea.
In response to Defense Minister Shin Won-sik's remarks, one can only sigh at South Korea's courage and self-confidence.
Although South Korea has some military and economic problems, from the perspective of national strength, South Korea's threat to China is nothing more than those who touch China's culture and cause mental harm to Chinese by disgusting Chinese.
After all, China has taken full control of South Korea.
South Korea's military strength is relatively limited, as the country's defense is focused on dealing with North Korea from the north.
South Korea mainly relies on the system of "universal military service" to maintain its own ***
Because the strategic depth between the two Koreas is very small, South Korea's air force and navy cannot play an important role in the face of North Korea, so only the army can play a major role in South Korea.
Through universal service, the South Korean Army can quickly expand its military and form a multi-million force with certain military skills in a short period of time, and it can also allow civilians to organize resistance forces on their own initiative to delay the intervention of the US military.
However, in the face of China, South Korea's army appears insignificant.
Compared with South Korea, which relies on "conscripts" to maintain national defense, the PLA has become a professional army capable of conducting modern warfare, and has realized the mechanization and synthesis of troops.
In terms of the PLA Army's ability to attack fortified positions, once it enters the Korean Peninsula, the ROK Army will not be able to establish an effective defensive line in front of the PLA.
At that time, the speed of the PLA's advance on the front will determine the progress of the war.
Even if South Korea gains the upper hand in the battle with North Korea and the Korean People's Army is defeated, South Korea's influence on China will be very limited.
Whether or not the ROK forces the Korean People's Army to retreat to the Yalu River, the PLA will take the initiative in the war.
The strategic depth between China and South Korea means that China's naval and air forces have a huge influence on the Korean Peninsula.
Compared with Japan, South Korea is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of the size of its naval and air forces, and their main ships are several "Korean versions" of the Arleigh Burke A-class, while the Air Force only has about 30 F-35 fighters, and the main model is still about 200 F-16s.
These military forces cannot compete with the navy and air force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the Chinese navy is able to quickly dictate the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
If the "Second Korean War" breaks out again, the Chinese Navy and Air Force will decide whether to quickly seize air and sea supremacy in light of the war situation.
Once the decision is implemented, the PLA Army will enter the Korean Peninsula through the Yalu River.
In addition, South Korea's economic problems are very serious.
The most dangerous problem for South Korea is that South Korean industries are highly overlapping with China.
Overlapping industries mean that South Korea's industries will be squeezed significantly in competition with China.
One of the most representative industries is shipbuilding.
In 1999, South Korea's shipbuilding industry surpassed Japan to become the world's largest shipbuilding country, accounting for about 45% of the world's shipbuilding orders.
However, after China decided to vigorously develop its shipbuilding industry, China's shipbuilding industry has grown by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the 21st century, and by 2008, China's shipbuilding industry was on par with South Korea's.
By 2023, China will account for about 60% of the world's shipbuilding orders, while South Korea will only account for about 30%, and the gap between the two countries is widening.
It can be said that South Korea's economic confrontation with China is extremely dangerous, and once China exerts its strength, which industry in South Korea will be squeezed by China?South Korea's share of shipbuilding is gradually being eaten up by China.
What's even more amazing is that many of South Korea's industries are completely dependent on China's supporting services.
For example, South Korea's automotive industry is highly dependent on urea imports from China.
According to 2022 data, 67% of the urea consumed in South Korea comes from imports from China.
South Koreans were deeply saddened by this data and believed that they should reduce their dependence on China, so they launched a series of "urea de-sinicization policies".
However, by 2023, South Korea has managed to increase the proportion of urea imported from China to 91%.
Not only that, but South Korea's pride in kimchi also needs to be imported from China.
The volatility of China's cabbage market has made matters worse for South Korea's kimchi industry.
Whether in the military or economic fields, South Korea lacks countermeasures against China, and its only reliance is on the United States.
However, the Korean Peninsula has suffered major tragic consequences in this game.
In fact, the occurrence and development of the inter-Korean issue has nothing to do with the efforts of the DPRK and the ROK.
It is essentially a by-product of the confrontation that developed during the Cold War when the United States and the Soviet Union carved up the world.
In order to protect the national defense and security of its northeastern region, China resisted the United States and aided Korea in 1950 and continued to support North Korea after the end of the Cold War.
However, with China's growing national strength and the United States listing China as a strategic competitor, the inter-Korean issue has become an arena for the game between China and the United States.
If war does break out between the two Koreas, its intensity and timing will depend on the attitude of the United States.
China has always advocated avoiding war, but if the United States insists on waging war, China will have to follow in the footsteps of the United States under the pressure of the situation.
The Korean Peninsula is really unfortunate.
From ancient times to modern times, it has always been a strategic buffer that the Central Plains Dynasty attaches great importance to, but after being annexed by Japan in modern times, it has become the stage of the Cold War.
The Korean Peninsula was a typical Cold War arena during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Korean Peninsula has always been a pawn on the international stage.
Therefore, the intimidation of the South Korean defense minister can only be seen as a joke by the outside world, and this is probably the tragedy of the Korean Peninsula.