One of South Korea’s most distinguished former generals has warned the US there could be no quick military victory against North Korea, casting doubt on Washington’s plans to deliver a “bloody nose” attack to force Kim Jong Un to scale back his nuclear ambitions.
Chun In-bum, who served for almost 40 years in the South Korean army and commanded the special forces, said the US would need to be prepared for a long, attritional war against a heavily militarised opponent.
“If we have to go into North Korea, it is not going to be like going into Iraq or Afghanistan,” Mr Chun told an audience at the Policy Exchange, a London think-tank. “It’s not going to be like toppling [Saddam] Hussein.