U.S. military bases in South Korea said they're remaining vigilant after the Islamic State terrorist group called for attacks against installations on the Asian peninsula over the weekend.
Online sources that support ISIS called for attacks against 77 U.S. and NATO bases worldwide. Among those, Osan Air Base, near Seoul, the capital, the capitol of Seoul, and Kunsan Air Base in the western part of the nation, were specifically listed as targets by the hacking group that calls itself the "United Cyber Caliphate."
Both bases are run by the U.S. Air Force. The 7th Air Force in Korea said it is aware of the threats but could not discuss any planned changes to base operations due to security concerns.
"We take the safety and security of our airmen and their families very seriously," the 7th Air Force said in a statement sent to Military Times.
U.S. Forces Korea, the command for U.S. forces in the nation, said it is working closely with South Korea security organizations, including that nation's National Intelligence Service.
"U.S. Forces Korea takes the safety and security of its installations very seriously," a statement from the organization said. "Through constant vigilance and regular exercises with our South Korean counterparts, we remain prepared to respond at any time to any emerging threats. USFK remains committed to ensuring the highest degree of security on the Korean Peninsula."
A South Korean civilian who works for a welfare organization was also identified as a target. Korean security forces said that individual is now under protection.
ISIS is likely attempting to show it has a global reach with the threats, said Tom Sanderson, the director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
"It's surprising that they would put the Korean bases on the hit list as opposed to bases in Europe or bases in countries that are more actively involved in the counter-ISIS operations," he said.
While South Korea is providing humanitarian aid to those caught in the crossfire between coalition forces and ISIS, it is not launching airstrikes against the terrorist group, nor does it have troops on the ground, Sanderson said.
Naming Osan and Kunsan as targets could be an attempt at bravado on the part of the terrorist group, or an attempt to attack a U.S. military base that few would expect to be in significant danger.
"If they were really serious about hitting the bases, why would they identify them? That leads me to believe this is a bit of posturing," Sanderson said. "At the end of the day I'm not saying there would be a zero percent chance of a hit, because to name something and then to do it provides a certain degree of credibility. To say I'm going to do this and then to go through with it is pretty significant."
U.S. forces must continue to work closely with Korean intelligence organizations, he said, especially since, if a Korean citizen was planning an attack, it would be the responsibility of the South Korean government to take action on its own soil.
The threat of an attack by ISIS is a little different than the threat troops in the Asian nation are most used to dealing with — an attack by North Korea.
"They certainly have far fewer personnel focused on ISIS threats within the country [compared to Middle Eastern and European nations]," Sanderson said.
He added that some of the skills the South Koreans have been using to detect and monitor North Korean spies and saboteurs could be applied to fighting terrorists as well.
"You're looking for someone who's hiding in plain sight, who's looking to get on a base, looking to do some damage," Sanderson said.
Still, the goals of the North Koreans and ISIS are different. North Korean spies are "not looking to pick off a U.S. service member going to a shopping mall. ISIS is," he said.
South Korea is no stranger to terrorism. In March 2009, four Korean tourists were killed in a suicide bombing in Yemen carried out by al-Qaida. A few days later, an official South Korean delegation traveled to Yemen to investigate the incident and were themselves targeted by a suicide bomber, though there were no casualties.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula released a statement claiming the attacks were "in response to South Korea's role in the war on Islam in alliance with crusader forces under the guise of a war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq."
An analysis by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that the reasoning for the attack was likely developed after the fact, and that witnesses said the attack against the tourists appeared to happen because the suicide bomber "selected the largest group he could find to maximize the impact; they happened to be Koreans."
And in 2007, the Taliban took hostage 23 South Korean missionaries in Afghanistan and killed two before an agreement was reached to release the rest of the group.
On Monday June 20, in response to the most recent ISIS threat, the South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said his nation is increasing its security measures.
"The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been citing South Korea as a potential target for its attacks since last September," Hwang said as quoted by local media.
