After the military provocations of the last two years, the government of the South has decided to buy (from Israel) a high-precision missile battery. It wants to deploy them on the border with the North. One analyst: "It will never arrive at war. China has lost the will to fight for Pyongyang. "

Seoul (AsiaNews) - South Korea is ready to buy, a battery consists of 50 high-precision missiles from Israel, capable of defending the islands from an attack by the North Korean regime. These will be deployed on two islands under the control of Seoul at the border with North Korea: using GPS technology, they are capable of stopping heavy artillery.

Seoul seems to have decided to get tough, at least from a military standpoint, against a Pyongyang which - over the past two years - have twice attacked Southern targets, first the Cheonan was sunk killing 46 sailors and second, the island of Yeonpyeong, was bombed in November, leaving 2 civilians and 2 soldiers dead.

Public opinion in the South has strongly criticized the government’s weak response to the provocations of the North, which focuses on military might to maintain the Kim dynasty in power. The purchase of the missiles signals the will of the South to return fire if attacked.

However, Professor Andrei Lankov - Professor of Korean Studies at the University of Seoul – says "the issue is almost entirely in the hands of China. Pyongyang, left alone, has no means to face a serious conflict. Certainly it has the weapons, and of course the atomic bomb, but it knows that might end up hurting itself or the Chinese giant and is afraid. Beijing, for its part, will not fight for a regime that it does not need any more. "

According to the academic, "China has made the path that North Korea must follow very clear: partial market liberalization and opening to foreign capital, along the lines of the openings of Deng Xiaoping. But Kim fears that, following this road, he will be undermined and prefers alternating military provocations and signs of openness. Until a few years ago, Beijing approved this strategy but now no longer has the desire, or money, to go to war for them. "

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