ROK Military Announces It is Cutting Two Army Divisions Among Other Reforms
Here are the latest changes coming to the ROK military:
![Defense Minister Suh Wook visits the Navy's Cheonghae unit in Muscat, Oman on Sept. 1. [NEWS1]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/09/02/42a847ec-4255-476e-b85e-0e5a7e20023a.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
The South Korean military will begin to deploy new weapons systems and significantly upgrade its technological capabilities in response to South Korea’s shrinking population and the North’s development of nuclear weapons, including a ballistic missile as destructive as a tactical nuclear weapon, according to the Defense Ministry’s 2022-2026 defense plan which was released Thursday.
Joong Ang Ilbo
It is expected that 315.2 trillion won ($271.8 billion) will be spent achieving the plan, the military’s five-year blueprint for upgrading its arsenal.
A highlight of the plan is a surface-to-surface missile that can carry a 3-ton warhead and fly up to 400 kilometers (248 miles), which is in the final phase of development.
The plan comes after the United States agreed to lift Cold War-era restrictions on South Korean missile technology in May, following a summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden.
The plan would also re-organize the armed forces to reflect the rising significance of technology and the military’s declining pool of eligible men to serve.
The Army will be reorganized into a troop-saving unit structure based on high-tech technology, maintaining the current two-fold operational command structure: the Ground Operations Command and the Second Operations Command.
However, with the elimination of the 6th and 8th Army Corps, the number of Army Corps will be reduced from eight to six, while the number of divisions will decrease from 35 to 33.
You can read more at the link, but if the ROK military is making cuts because of decreases in manpower they could always start conscripting women as well.
By the way does anyone find the Defense Minister visiting a ROK Navy ship in a hazmat suit a bit ridiculous?
GI — “By the way does anyone find the Defense Minister visiting a ROK Navy ship in a hazmat suit a bit ridiculous?”
Progressives: “No! He is stunning and brave!”
Everyone else: “Yes. Absolutely ridiculous.”
The US partially removes the restrictions on South Korea’s maximum missile distance rule.
The US removes the restrictions on South Korea’s ability to reprocess plutonium.
The US drops opposition to South Korea’s plans to build a nuclear powered submarine.
The US approves $250 million of worth sales of restricted crucial military technology components to South Korea, for South Korea to do whatever they would like to do with them.
The US to discuss admitting South Korea to the Five Eyes group of nations (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ), even at a time when South Korea never even asked for this.
Is there a pattern here?
By the way, do you remember back in June, when the US invited South Korea to the G8 meeting back in June, making President Moon one of the central figures of the meeting? All the while, the US and UK totally ignored and ostracized the Japanese PM who almost looked like an anti-social – that upset a lot of Japanese.
The US is either getting prepared to leave South Korea, but before doing so, let South Korea handle its own defence…. Or the US is actually not planning to leave South Korea at all, but to make South Korea as the main country in Asia (taking over Japan’s role) to use against China and North Korea.
Considering that the Minister and the Ministry of National Defense received a lot of flak for the mishandling of the Covid-19 outbreak on the previously deployed destroyer, it seems like they decided to take this opportunity to show that they are now on top of the situation.
However, they seem to have gone overboard and look more comical and surely do not look like people who are supposed to be on top of the situation.
Whoever planned this surely didn’t know what he or she was doing. Same for the guy who agreed and made the final decision to go along with all this.
South Korea has the same trouble as America. We tend to elect people who really aren’t qualified to run a lemonade stand to manage our affairs. And they, in turn, hire/appoint even less-competent buffoons to handle our military.
Well, either they’re incompetent or actually have malicious plans to destroy is. One of the two.
Fatty loves seeing the ROK army cut divisions and manpower.