A retired and well-respected South Korean general said that North Korean soldiers will defend their homeland with a religious fanaticism if the United States decides to attack.

“I try to explain to the Americans — if we have to go into North Korea, it is not going to be like going into Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s not going to be like toppling (ex-Iraqi President Saddam) Hussein. This would be more like trying to get rid of Allah,” said I.-B. Chun, referring to the Arabic word for God.

Chun, speaking at a London think tank late Wednesday, said. “I said to my team: Can you imagine what that would look like? (North Korean leader) King Jong Un and his family is a cult in North Korea.”

The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea since its founding in 1948. Its three leaders — first Kim Il Sung, then Kim Jong Il and now Kim Jong Un — have inspired an intense, devotional following that has kept them in power.

In her new book, North Korea: The Country We Love to Hate, political analyst Loretta Napoleoni described the isolated nation’s ruling “juche” philosophy that values self-reliance and extreme nationalism “as a modern religion, similar to Scientology, a non-transcendental doctrine with a twist of absurdity and plenty of dogmas.”

“I have had the opportunity to speak to North Korean soldiers who have defected to South Korea — and you cannot imagine how indoctrinated they are,” Chun said. “These are people who have defected, and yet there is still an innate belief in their system which is close to ridiculous.”

Chun stated that most of the military’s infrastructure is underground due to the bombing by the US in the 1950s and that although their air force is outdated, he’d expect them to use them in kamikaze style attacks as well as their huge chemical weapons stockpile.

Chun urged that a war against North Korea should be a last resort.

To read the entire article from The USA Today, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia