Category: ROK Military

Something to remember is that a Patriot battery is not going to protect Seoul against North Korea’s artillery which is the real defense problem for the nation’s capitol:

A Patriot surface-to-air missile battery has recently been installed on Mount Bukak near Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul, according to political sources, Tuesday. The battery system reportedly consists of a launcher for PAC-2 (Patriot advanced capability-2) missiles and another one for PAC-3 missiles.

The deployment of the unit in Seoul is aimed at strengthening the defense of the capital. The plan was devised after South Korea allowed the United States to deploy a terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) battery in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 2017. While the THAAD system has strengthened the defense of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, concerns have been that defense of the capital area was relatively weak.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

You have to be a Korea watcher for many years to understand the significance of this delivery:

South Korea on Monday took delivery of its first Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, vastly expanding the range of its aerial surveillance to include the entirety of the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

The high-altitude RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk drone, built by U.S. defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman, arrived at an Air Force base in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, at around 5 a.m. – the first of four such aircraft Seoul acquired in an approximately $1.2-billion deal.

Seoul’s earliest attempt to acquire the drone from the United States took place in 2003 – when North Korea was in the early stages of its nuclear development program – and it was only in 2014 that the acquisition was finally approved by Washington. While the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was expected to be delivered by early 2018, the United States delayed the transfer owing to cybersecurity issues. Then errors with the drones’ radar and electro-optical or infrared sensors caused further delays this year.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this sale has been in the works since 2003 because of the delays caused by concerns that technology and information would be leaked to North Korea.  Now with the US wanting the ROK to take on more of their defense responsibilities the sale was approved and hopefully whatever concerns of technology leaks has been mitigated as well.

Competition to get a coveted KATUSA slot is about to get more fierce as the ROK Army is set to greatly reduce the number of KATUSA soldiers:

The Republic of Korea (ROK) Army will drastically reduce the number of soldiers selected for the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) starting next year, as fewer are needed due to the relocation of U.S. bases to the newly expanded U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, according to ROK Army sources, Wednesday.

This is the first time for the Army to curtail its KATUSA selection.

Each year, the ROK Army selects around 2,000 troops to become KATUSAs, but that number will be slashed to 1,600 next year and continue to be reduced through 2022.

“The reduction in KATUSA selection is part of the nation’s ongoing defense reforms, and also in line with the decreasing number of conscripts and the realignment of personnel at the Eighth United States Army. The number will be reduced further in phases in the coming years,” a ROK Army official told The Korea Times.

There are currently about 3,500 KATUSAs, including commissioned and non-commissioned officers, but the ROK Army plans to reduce this by up to 900 by 2022, a decrease of over 25 percent. 

In late 2018, 2,026 KATUSAs were selected among 14,251 applicants to be conscripted this year, a competition rate of 6.9 to 1.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but instead of a 7 to 1 chance of getting a KATUSA slot, now applicants will face 10 to 1 odds.

There are claims being made that the Trump administration is pressuring the Blue House to buy F-35B’s:

Shortly after the Korea-U.S. presidential summit in April, the Blue House asked the military to consider the possible procurement of F-35Bs, a more expensive version of the stealth fighter jets Korea earlier purchased, an opposition lawmaker told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday.

Rep. Baek Seung-joo of the Liberty Korea Party, who once served as vice defense minister, said the National Security Office of the Blue House discussed the purchase plan with an Air Force official on April 18. The summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump took place on April 11 in Washington. 

In 2014, the Air Force finalized the first phase of a next-generation fighter jet project and confirmed the purchase of 40 F-35As, the most common version of the fighter jet built by Lockheed Martin. The deliveries are scheduled to be completed in 2021. 

The second phase of the project will start in 2021. The military is to spend a total of 4 trillion won ($3.35 billion) for five years to purchase 20 additional stealth fighter jets. Speculation was high in the military that Korea would buy more F-35As. 

Although F-35Bs have short takeoff and vertical landing features, which would allow deployment on a light aircraft carrier Korea is planning to build starting next year, military sources said the Air Force prefers F35-As. They said F-35Bs have limited weapons capabilities, operational scope and mobility compared to F-35As. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I think the fact that the Japanese announced in August they were buying F-35B’s to put on their helicopter carriers is the more likely reason. This could just simply be a case of keeping up with the Jones’s.

The real question is if the ROK military had early warning of an impending missile launch and were told by the Blue House to not deploy the Aegis ships to track the launches for fear of upsetting North Korea? With that said another possibility could be that the ROK military did not need the radar data because they were already getting it from their land based Green Pine radars:

South Korea’s key warships assigned to detecting North Korea’s missile launches have failed to detect and track them on five occasions this year.

According to Navy data obtained by Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Chong Jong-sup on Thursday, Aegis vessels failed to detect and track North Korea’s ballistic missile launches on May 4 and 9, July 25, Aug. 2, and Sept. 10. 

The North has launched new missiles or projectiles from multiple rocket launchers on a total of 11 occasions since May 4.

“No sailing orders were given to the Aegis vessels from the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters to monitor North Korea’s missile activities on time,” the Navy said. 

“Even if sailing orders had been given, the missile activities were out of Aegis radar range in some cases” or “it was possible to detect and track only one out of every two missiles, because the combat readiness system update was often delayed on the Aegis ships.”

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

There could be a steep drop in the number of ROK Army soldiers in the coming years:

The Army said Friday it plans to reduce the number of troops by around 100,000 over the next three years in the face of a shrinking population and as part of reform initiatives to create a smaller, smarter military.

By 2022, the number of soldiers will be slashed to about 365,000 from the current level of around 464,000, according to an Army report presented to the National Assembly.

This is in line with defense reforms under which the government seeks to reduce the number of troops to cope with fewer potential draftees and shorter mandatory service terms for conscripts.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is what President Moon had to say in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the ROK Military:

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged to build an unassailable military force capable of supporting peace building on the peninsula in remarks at a ceremony to commemorate Korea’s 71st Armed Forces Day.

The ceremony took place for the first time at an Air Force base in Daegu, home to the Air Force’s main combat force of F-15K jets, and featured an unveiling of the country’s new F-35A stealth fighter jets recently acquired from the United States.

In an address, Moon commended the military for defending the freedoms of every South Korean to enjoy peace and prosperity and said it was this defensive might that would buttress the country’s efforts to build a permanent peace regime on the peninsula.

“Peace should not be something to maintain but to create,” Moon said, according to a Blue House translation. “The impenetrable security of our armed forces underpins dialogue and cooperation, enabling us to embark on a bold journey toward permanent peace.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Standards will soon drop for ROK Army conscription:

The South Korean military said Sunday it plans to lower the bar for the conscription of active duty soldiers, as the country’s population is widely expected to shrink drastically. 

The Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration are currently in the process of revising related regulations to lower the physical requirements and standards for active duty troops.

The measure under review comes amid a precipitate fall in the country’s population. The phenomenon is likely to drastically cut the number of men in their 20s to less than 250,000 after 2022, compared to some 350,000 as of 2017, leaving far fewer able-bodied young men eligible for the mandatory military service. 

“The Military Manpower Administration and other related bodies predict a major problem in securing manpower (for active duty troops) from around 2021. They plan to revise (the conscription standards) next year,” a government official said.

Under the revised plan, the government will use a new set of medical standards that are less strict than those currently applied, such as those on body mass index and high blood pressure. 

The new standards are likely to be finalized in early 2021, and the military will continue to take steps to gradually further loosen the requirements, according to the official. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is good to see that more women are able to advance their careers in the ROK military:

When it comes to promoting gender equality in military barracks, some might think it is about giving preferential treatment to female personnel. 

Kang Seo-yeon, a chief petty officer of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy, realized this after an article spotlighting her service received comments to such effect online. 

“After all, we are all service members whether we are male or female,” Kang said. “Female NCOs in the military can often be seen as a special case when they should rather be seen as competent, just like their male colleagues.” 

For Navy service personnel, serving in a remote area or on a ship on a maritime mission helps their careers. While her husband is also a Navy chief petty officer serving on the ROKS Chungbuk (FFG-816) in the Second Fleet based at Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Kang chose to serve at a naval base on Deokjeok Island off the western coast of Incheon this year ― her 11th in the Navy. Before enlisting in the Navy she served four years in the Army as she always wanted to be in the military after graduating from high school. 

Kang, now raising her four-year-old son on Deokjeok Island, said she can balance her work and childcare through the military’s childcare support policies. 

In South Korea, all able-bodied men must serve 18 to 22 months in the military but no mandatory military service is required of women. They can join the military as non-commissioned, or commissioned officer if they graduate from military academies or pass national qualification tests to join the military. 

Media focus on female personnel has often been on them taking certain positions for the first time that had not been “allowed” before, largely due to the perception that women would find it hard to serve on such missions. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link about various female servicemembers that have filled leadership roles for the first time in the ROK military.