Evening star., 1950-07-23

Communist overland supply route
in this allzimportant feature of
war. True. the North Korean
armies are now supplied by rail
and truck from their bases, while
our weapons. munitions, food and
other materials must come by sea
from japan and ultimately from
the United States.
But the North Korean armies
can be supplied from home bases
only so long as their stockpiles of
war materials hold out. There is
much indication that they and
their Soviet master minds ex-
pected to overrun South Korea in
a matter of days or at most a few
weeks. Their stocked materials
very probably are geared to a
short campaign. When they run
out-and our prompt resistance
with American arms makes 1t in
evitable that they must-they will
face a supply problem fully as
difficult as ours.
Economy Primitive
For the economy of North Ko-
rea is only somewhat less primi-
tive that that Of South Korea and
cannot in any way support war.
While the overall Soviet high
command would undoubtedly not
hesitate to throw in the resources
of North China and Manchuria,
even these areas which supplied
much Of the war against Ma
tionalist China cannot do the job
in the type Of warfare the North
Koreans must wage If they expect
to win South Korea. now that we
are committed to holding it.
The entire economy of East
Asia can support only wars like
that fought in China, war between
massed armies with little air ac-
tivity, little bombing damage and
little armor and heavy artillery.
Rich in manpower, Asia has only
scattered and fragmentary indus
try and an inadequate and easily
overburdened transportation sys-
tenn. When the invaders from
North Korea run out of their
stocks of ex-Japanese arms and
the armor and fuel which the
Soviet has sent to that area, they
will have to depend for nearly all
of their supplies upon Soviet Rus
sia. And while the Soviet has
undoubtedly built q large and
complete war industry east Of the
Urals in Asiatic Russia, this is
still some thousands of miles from
the battlefront in Korea. The
Soviet supply situation can then
become more difficult than ours.
for we can fairly easily put what
ever shipping is necessary in
service while they can hardly ex-
pand their rail system through
Asia to the extent required for
efficiently supplying major war
fare all the way from Russia
proper to Korea.
North Has Some Industry
Since North Korea contains the
mineral resources and the sites for
hydroelectric power while South
Korea is more suitable for agri-
culture, the japanese established
industrial plants and power de-
velopment in the north. In spite
of the small population of Korea
north of 380 (about one-third of
the total Korean population of
"a million), the amount of basic
heavy industry installed by the
Japanese is fairly large. probably
behind only Japan and India in
the whole Far East.
Fortunately for us in this stage
Of the world struggle. however,
the japanese made no attempt to
install a balanced industry in
North Korea, but simply developed
facilities for the exploitation of
existing natural resources. The
presence of aluminium shale and
magnesite resulted in plants for
the reduction of the ores and the
smelling of light metals. SINH
larly the iron ore and anthracite
coal led to the building of iron
and steel mills and coal tar by
product and fertilizer facilities.
The smelling Of lead and copper,
the production of sulphuric acid,
the briquetting of coal and the
making of electrodes likewise