Category: ROK Military

This would be a great upgrade to the ROK Navy’s ballistic missile defenses by fielding the SM-6:

The U.S. Department of State has approved a possible sale to South Korea of Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) shipborne missile interceptors and related equipment to help improve the Asian ally’s security capabilities, a government agency said Tuesday.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) under the Department of Defense made the announcement on the potential government-to-government Foreign Military Sale estimated to cost US$650 million.

The South Korean government has made a request to buy up to 38 SM-6 Block I missiles, vertical launch system canisters, training aids and other related equipment, according to DSCA.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is interesting how transparent the KATUSA selection process has become to include now even a publicly viewable lottery system. In the past their was a lot of suspicion of rich and connected families receiving the KATUSA slots for their mandatory service:

Applicants and their parents vying for a military service placement in the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) attend a lottery at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) office in Daejeon, Thursday. Yonhap

Silence filled the room as young men and parents waited anxiously to hear their fate at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) headquarters in Daejeon, Nov. 2, during a lottery to select who would join the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA).

The descion was made within a few minutes in a lucky draw. The 30 or so young men and their parents, who showed up on behalf of their sons, were among the 15,360 applicants nationwide who signed up for this year’s competition to serve at U.S. Army bases across the nation. 

Among them, only 1,762 would make the cut — a competition ratio of 8.7 to 1. 

Some bit their lips, while others closed their eyes for a moment of prayer as MMA officials prepared red, yellow and blue colored and numbered balls for the computerized lottery program.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I would hope someone is developing technology to detect moving drone based mines like we are seeing the Black Sea right now from Ukraine:

Northrop Grumman has been contracted to provide technical support for South Korea’s upcoming naval minesweeping helicopter, the company announced in a news release Monday. 

The Virginia-based company will support the integration of its Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, or ALMDS, into Korea Aerospace Industries’ Korean Mine Countermeasures Helicopter program by 2027, according to the release.

The purpose of the ALMDS is to detect and identify floating and near-surface moored mines, Northrop Grumman said on its website. The system has been used in U.S. Navy littoral combat ships and the MH-60S Seahawk helicopters since its development in 2016.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Just another example of increasing trilateral cooperation:

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise in waters south of the Korean Peninsula this week for the first time in seven years, the South Korean Navy said Tuesday, amid efforts to strengthen security coordination against North Korean threats.

The two-day exercise, which began Monday in international waters southeast of the southern resort island of Jeju along with anti-piracy drills, came after the three countries’ defense chiefs agreed to resume the trilateral exercises during their meeting in Singapore in June.

The three sides last staged a maritime interdiction exercise, which focuses on intercepting suspected smuggling vessels, in 2016 and an anti-piracy exercise in 2017.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Too bad the weather wasn’t better, but I guess we will see how North Korea responds to this military parade in Seoul:

Amidst the rain, South Korea showcases its indigenous Hyunmoo ballistic missiles during a military street parade in downtown Seoul, commemorating the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day. (Yonhap)

The South Korean military showcased an array of domestically produced advanced weaponry in a rare, large-scale military parade in downtown Seoul on Tuesday, with its commander-in-chief warning North Korea of the collapse of the Kim Jong-un regime in the case of a nuclear attack against the South.

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, observed each year on Oct. 1, South Korea demonstrated its robust conventional military capabilities, serving as a resolute message to North Korea amid its increased nuclear threats.

This high-profile military street parade, the first in a decade, was staged hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a stern warning to North Korea during a military inspection ceremony.

“If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will be brought to an end by an overwhelming response from the ROK-US alliance,” Yoon said in his speech at Seoul Air Base, referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but US military personnel participated in the parade as well for the first time.

Stryker Brigade combat troops from the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division join a South Korean military parade in downtown Seoul on Tuesday in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day. (Yonhap)

South Korea continues to increase its military engagement with Ukraine by providing some much needed mine clearing vehicles:

Fortunately for Ukraine, South Korean firm Hyundai produces a similar breaching vehicle: the K600. And Seoul just pledged two of the 62-ton vehicles to Kyiv. South Korea will deliver the K600s “as soon as possible,” a government source told Chosun.

Hyundai makes a two-person K600 by removing the turret from a K1 tank—a South Korean variant of the American M-1—and adding a plow, an articulated excavator arm and a device for safely triggering magnetic mines.

The K600 is compatible with two dozer blades, both made by Pearson. A wedge-shape blade works best for digging up and shoving aside buried mines. A straight blade works better for generic engineering tasks: filling in trenches, digging revetments, et cetera.

Hyundai delivered the first K600s to the South Korean army in 2020. The South Korean and Ukrainian governments began discussing a K600 transfer back in May; the South Koreans finally approved the deal this month. There’s one caveat. The Ukrainians must deploy the vehicles only in “humanitarian” roles.

The caveat is meaningless. Arguably any mineclearing operation—even one that occurs while the engineers are under enemy fire—is humanitarian.

Forbes via a reader tip

You can read more at the link.

This is the one area where the ROK military is lacking compared to North Korea’s military, conducting parades:

This Oct. 1, 2013 file photo shows a military parade taking place in central Seoul to mark Armed Forces Day. Yonhap

South Korea will stage a large-scale military parade in central Seoul later this month for the first time in a decade, featuring tanks, fighter jets and other advanced assets, to mark the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, defense officials said Wednesday.

Some 4,000 troops and over 170 pieces of military equipment, including K2 battle tanks, the country’s new “high-power” missile, and attack drones, will parade from Sungnyemun Gate to Gwanghwamun Square on Sept. 26 to commemorate the landmark anniversary, according to the officials.

This year’s event will proceed under the theme of “strong military, strong security, and peace through strength” to demonstrate the military’s resolve to defend the country, with a focus on sending a message to North Korea against provocations, one of the officials said. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The South Korean military is facing suicide problems just like the U.S. military, but is focusing on bullying as the reason. I don’t support bullying in the military, but I think it has more to do with today’s youth being poorly conditioned both physically and mentally prior to entering military service. A lot of youth in South Korea do not conduct much physical activity, are on their phones all day, and playing video games. They are conscripted into the military where phones and video games are not as freely available and are doing exhausting physical activity which they are not used to. I think this all plays into why Soldiers may commit suicide especially when they are forced to be there:

Kim Gi-cheol remembers his son’s determination to fulfill his military duty as a South Korean citizen, despite having the opportunity to secure an exemption by acquiring foreign nationality.

Having spent an extended period abroad, his son was relatively unfamiliar with the Korean language and culture. Nevertheless, Kim never imagined that his son, who was proud to serve his home country, would be dead just three months after enlisting.

In November 2022, while stationed at a general post in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province near the inter-Korean border, Pvt. Kim took his own life.

The military and the police concluded the case as a suicide, presenting the rifle he used and testimony from his colleagues as evidence.

As the investigation unfolded, Kim’s father learned that his son had faced “systemic” bullying from his colleagues and military officers, and that he had trouble adjusting to military life. Pvt. Kim was reportedly pushed to the brink, forced to take on guard duties without adequate training amid an escalating security situation following North Korea’s consecutive missile launches.

“If someone is pondering changing their nationality, I implore them to do so without a second thought,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “Why should we subject our children to the military of the Republic of Korea, which has fallen into such a dismal state?”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but does anyone else have any theories on why ROK military servicemembers commit suicide?

It looks like if a young Korean person wants to have their college paid for, an ROTC scholarship is a very easy one to receive now:

Cadets of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) throw their hats in the air during a commencement and commissioning ceremony at the Army Cadet Military School in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, Feb. 28. Newsis

The ROK military is facing a severe shortage in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) applicants as young people increasingly shun the junior officer position apparently because of pay rates and the long service periods.

According to the Army, the Korean Military Academy will announce an additional recruitment notice for ROTC candidates in August. The decision comes as the application rate for the ROTC program hit a record low this year, with the number of applicants falling short of the number of available spots. 

It is the first time the Army will seek additional recruitment processes for cadets since the ROTC system was introduced here in 1961. 

ROTC is a college-based officer commissioning program, under which cadets undergo physical and military education for four semesters and then serve for 24 to 36 months in the military after being commissioned.

There were about 16,000 ROTC applicants in 2016, but the figure steadily fell by 2,000 each year to mark 5,000 this year. The competition ratio, which stood at 4.8 to 1 in 2015, plunged to 2.4 to 1 in 2022. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I knew a ROK Air Force lieutenant who told me he went ROTC simply because he could guarantee going into the Air Force and receive better treatment compared to being a conscript. He said the extra time in service was worth the better treatment.