Hamcham, Censorship of Failure to Respond to 'Buk Muinji'... How Far Will the 'Munchaek' Go?

Possibility of Accountability for Intelligence and Operations Lines
Rather Than Immediate Punitive Personnel Actions,
Likely to Be Reflected in Future Regular General Officer Personnel Changes

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As the Joint Chiefs of Staff is reviewing the responsibility for responding to the infiltration of North Korean drones, attention is focused on the level of disciplinary action. The Ministry of National Defense, which has been criticized for 'self-audits and self-discipline,' may take strong disciplinary measures, but it may also adopt a cautious stance to avoid being entangled in North Korea's intentions.

On the 10th, a military official said, "The readiness posture inspection team is conducting the inspection indefinitely and plans to look into situation sharing and operational shortcomings between the 1st Corps and the Capital Defense Command."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korean Drone’s Flight Path Transmission Deficiencies... If General-Level Personnel Changes Follow Inspection Results, It May Play into North Korea’s Intentions

The readiness posture inspection office is investigating whether the high-speed situation transmission system, a system for emergency situation communication, functioned properly and what operational shortcomings existed.

The North Korean drone flew automatically according to pre-entered GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates but apparently did not fly in a straight line. This is why radar detection and loss were repeated, making it difficult to track a consistent flight path. Due to the Army’s individual air defense system characteristics, where each unit is responsible for its assigned area, it has been pointed out that it was inherently difficult to respond in an integrated manner to enemy drones crossing zones.

Within the military, it is expected that the inspection results will be released as early as this month. This raises the possibility of disciplinary action against the intelligence and operations lines. Rather than immediate disciplinary personnel measures, more weight is placed on reflecting the mistakes and responsibilities revealed in this drone response during the upcoming regular general officer personnel appointments.

However, considering the serious issue that the North Korean drone intruded into the no-fly zone (P-73) and the military initially denied this before reversing its statement, there is also a possibility that the government will take disciplinary action promptly.

Some speculate that the government may initially adopt a cautious stance. If high-ranking generals are replaced due to North Korea’s provocations, North Korea might exploit this and launch additional provocations in other forms to gauge reactions. This judgment also seems to consider the fact that the military has often not taken disciplinary action through internal audits, leading to the burden of 'self-audits and self-discipline.'

Last July, the Ministry of National Defense was criticized for conducting an audit after 90% of the crew of the Cheonghae Unit’s Munmu the Great ship contracted COVID-19 in a mass infection but only issuing warnings to six related agencies and departments without disciplining individual personnel.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.