SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has massively increased its special-operations forces, schooled them in the use of Iraqi-style roadside bombs and equipped them to sneak past the heavily fortified border that divides the Koreas.
By expanding what was already the world’s largest special-operations force, the North appears to be adding commando teeth to what, in essence, is a defensive military strategy.
The cash-strapped government of Kim Jong-Il, which struggles to maintain and buy fuel for its aging tanks and armor, has concluded it cannot win a conventional war, according to U.S. and South Korean military officials.
But by combining huge numbers of special forces with artillery that can devastate the South, North Korea has found an affordable way to remain terrifying, ensure regime survival and deter a pre-emptive strike on the nuclear bombs that make it a player on the world stage, say military analysts.
