North Korea Troop Buildup Near DMZ Causes Concern

North Korea has been steadily adding military forces near the demilitarized zone that separates it from South Korea while continuing to fend off international inspections of key nuclear-related sites, U.S. officials said Friday.

The North Korean moves are provoking concern by U.S. officials that North Korea may be digging in militarily even as the United States and its allies dangle the possibility of a closer and less confrontational relationship with the hard-line Communist state once the nuclear inspection issue is resolved.

U.S. officials regard the moves as providing modest reinforcement to existing North Korean border forces, which are postured for offensive military action. Seoul and Washington have long feared this posture would give them little warning of any attack authorized by North Korea’s unpredictable leadership.

North Korea recently has focused attention on this issue by making angry remarks about the possible approval of economic sanctions by the U.N. Security Council to force its hand in the nuclear dispute. The Pyongyang government has said it would regard any sanctions as an aggressive act and respond appropriately, raising public fears of a potential attack.

Many U.S. and South Korean analysts remain skeptical that the North might take such a drastic step, however, particularly if the sanctions are implemented after a long warning period.

Defense Secretary Les Aspin nonetheless agreed this week with South Korean defense officials to begin what he called a “joint assessment of possible future threats from North Korea” and also to plan for deployment of more antitank weapons and other U.S. military equipment in South Korea as a precautionary measure.

At a news conference Thursday in Seoul, Aspin said in explaining the agreement that U.S. officials had seen “a lot of changes that have been taking place recently . . . (that alter) the military capabilities on the North Korean side.”

Aspin did not elaborate, but other officials confirmed that North Korean military commanders have moved heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems southward this year under a major redeployment plan initially set in motion several years ago.