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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| South Korea to downsize military by 180,000 |
| 2005-09-06 |
| South Korea's Defense Ministry plans to drastically downsize its army as part of efforts to reform its army-dominated military, officials said Monday. Under the plan, the ministry will reduce the number of its overall troops to 500,000 from current 680,000 by 2020, which would mostly affect army personnel, they said. Instead, the military will be equipped with high-tech weapons and equipment to maintain its deterrence against North Korea. Reorganizing the army-dominated military while boosting navy, air force is a major policy goal of President Roh Moo-hyun who is seeking to reduce the country's security dependency on the U.S. military. Roh has vowed to develop his country's defenses independent of the United States within 10 years, pledging to lay the groundwork for the self-defense system during his five-year term that ends in 2008 with massive military build-up programs. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has reported to Roh a set of measures to revamp the South Korean military, focused on reorganizing his ground combat organizations. The military plan calls for the creation of a guided-missile unit to cope with threats from North Korea's long-range artilleries deployed along the inter-Korean border. "Though our troop level will be reduced, we will be changed into high-tech and technology- and science-focused forces," the official said. The United States currently keeps 32,500 troops in South Korea after withdrawing about 5,000 soldiers last year. Washington plans to reshape American troops in South Korea as "rapid deployment forces" to interfere in military conflicts in Northeast Asia, under the posture of "strategic flexibility." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 Just so long as they're not going to rely on US. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-09-06 17:19 |
| #4 Considering that the US has a far greater population, land mass, and GDP and fields an Army just augmented by 20,000 to a grand total of 502,000, the level the South Koreans are clipping down to of 500,000 doesn't seem to be anything spectacular to whine about. If they want to modernize along American lines, those are going to be very expensive. |
| Posted by: Snaise Slaling6562 2005-09-06 12:30 |
| #3 Faster. please. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-09-06 11:55 |
| #2 I would be afwaid of a Euowopian awmy. You must cweate one to keep me in check. Yes... |
| Posted by: Kim 2005-09-06 11:49 |
| #1 If they follow through with the new weapons and equipment, this will be a good thing. The danger is that the left will first shrink the army size, then refuse to fund the upgrades, so you end up with a European army. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-09-06 10:35 |