This undated photo, released by The Associated Press, shows the radar-evading F-35A fighter ready to take off at a U.S. air base. South Korea is considering procuring 20 additional F-35A fighters to enhance its wartime strike capabilities, military officials said on Sept. 12, 2016, amid escalating nuclear threats posed by North Korea. (Yonhap)
At least one ROK lawmaker wants to get really serious about preventing ROK military corruption:
Rep. Sin Sang-jin of the ruling Saenuri Party.
– A lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party proposed a new bill on Thursday to classify military-related corruption as a form of aiding and abetting the enemy, paving the way for courts to hand out stricter punishment including the death penalty.
Under South Korean law, any action benefiting the enemy can land a person in jail for at least five years, with more serious offences leading to capital punishment.
“Irregularities in the military have an adverse impact on national defense that leads directly to the safety of the people,” Rep. Sin Sang-jin said, adding the existing system cannot sufficiently root out military-related corruption due to ineffective punishment. [Yonhap]
As North Korea continues to develop its Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) capability South Korea is definitely going to need to acquire this technology in response:
Boeing P-8 Poseidon, an advanced maritime surveillance aircraft. [U.S. NAVY WEBSITE]The South Korean military may buy four cutting-edge antisubmarine patrol aircraft in the wake of the successful test-firing of a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea last week, a senior government official told the JoongAng Ilbo Tuesday.
The advanced maritime surveillance aircraft being considered by the military is a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, which costs between 250 billion and 300 billion won ($223 – 268 million) per jet. The U.S. Navy has such aircraft, as do the Indian and Australian navies.
“North Korea is preparing a number of strategic ways to attack the South using its submarine fleet on top of the SLBM development,” said the official, “We are discussing whether to purchase the latest maritime patrol aircraft to detect North Korean submarines to prevent surprise attacks from under water.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
In response to the recent North Korean Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) test, some are advocating for the ROK to develop nuclear powered submarines:
The need for South Korea to possess a nuclear-powered submarine is increasing as the country moves to counter North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) threat, military experts here said Friday.
They are emphasizing the necessity for Seoul to acquire a submarine with far greater endurance than conventional diesel-electric counterparts after North Korea test-fired an SLBM that flew about 500 kilometers earlier this week. This provocation, which is viewed as a “successful” launch, has fueled concerns about technical improvements in the reclusive country’s missile programs that can threaten global security.
Once a submarine goes underwater, it is hard to track. This makes it very difficult to determine when an SLBM will be launched, which can hinder a timely and effective response.
Many observers have said the best way to counter SLBM threats is to pre-emptively attack the missile-armed submarine in the event of an emergency situation.
If an SLBM is capable of carrying a small nuclear warhead, it can pose a formidable threat, as the North would be able to hit targets theoretically from anywhere with little warning, experts said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I think the ROK should consider developing nuclear submarines as well as their own advanced SLBM technology to not only put pressure on North Korea, but China as well. Anti-submarine warfare is something that the Chinese are far behind in and a neighboring country developing their own advanced submarine technology will only further expose this Chinese weakness. This would put further pressure on China to stop North Korea’s constant provocations against the ROK.
A medical non-commissioned officer surnamed Lee, 24, was arrested for allegedly stabbing a female officer while drunk. The event occurred on Aug. 5, after he got into a quarrel with his colleagues.
“The victim got neural damages in her thigh due to the incident,” said an official from the Armed Forces Medical Command on Friday. “She is currently being treated in a private hospital.”
Around 10 officers from the Korean Armed Forces Hongcheon Hospital in Hongcheon County, Gangwon, gathered on Aug. 5 for dinner and drinks. The conflict began when Lee was reprimanded for his rudeness by another non-commissioned officer with a lower rank, according to police.
“It seems like Lee felt disrespected that someone with a lower rank scolded him,” said a military official.
After dinner, the party moved on to a noraebang (karaoke room). Lee, who had left for home around midnight, also showed up, holding a knife, police later said. Lee brandished his knife and moved toward the non-commissioned officer he had quarreled with, the report noted, who then ran away with wounds to his stomach.
Police also said the female officer, running into Lee on her way back from the washroom, was stabbed in several places including her thigh.
The chaos was concluded when a civilian military worker inside the noraebang venue subdued Lee. Police arrested Lee for bodily harm and handed him over to the military police. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Condolences to the families of these ROK sailors killed this week in what appears to be a horrible accident:
Three South Korean sailors were killed and another seriously injured in an apparent gas explosion Tuesday at a southeastern naval base, military officials said.
The blast occurred about 8:30 a.m. when the men were trying to open the hatch of a midget submarine undergoing repairs at South Korea’s Jinhae naval base, the officials said. The force of the blast tossed one of the sailors into the water.
Military authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, but it appears to have been an accumulation of gas in the hull, the officials said. [Stars & Stripes]
The Patriot PAC-3 is designed to shootdown short range ballistic missiles not an intermediate range missile which the category the Musudan falls under. That is what the THAAD system is for:
A medium-range ballistic missile launched Wednesday by North Korea flew at an average speed of Mach 11.3, or 11.3 times faster than the speed of sound, according to an analysis of a timeline seen on a monitor at the launch site.
The hypersonic speed of Mach 11.3 has sharply raised concerns about the capabilities of the Patriotic Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile defense system that the South Korean military has purchased to upgrade its existing PAC-2 missile defense system. The PAC-3 flies at Mach 3.5 to 5 and intercepts incoming missiles at altitudes of up to 40 kilometers (25 miles). [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but a professor at the Korea National Defense University explains in the article that THAAD can shoot down the Musudan. This is all the more reason why both Japan and the ROK should look at either purchasing their own THAAD system or deploying one into theater from the US.
Al Jazeera has recently published an article about their visit to a ROK Marine Corps base along the maritime border with North Korea. The article has a few interesting facts to include that the ROK Marines has the second highest number of amphibious assault vehicles in the world:
Marines watch a performance by K-pop band La Boum [Joel Lawrence/Al Jazeera]Our next stop was a marine battalion operating amphibious landing vehicles known as KAAVs – Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicles – a variant of the American AAV7 and an asset essential for its core mission of landing on an enemy’s shore.
A KAAV can transport as many as 21 troops and run 480km on land, or stay in the sea up to seven hours.
South Korea’s Marine Corps has about 160 KAAVs in total, the second-largest contingent of such landing vehicles in the world after the United States. [Al Jazeera]
I am a bit surprised that it has taken this long for a North Korean defector to serve in the ROK military:
A North Korean defector recently completed his mandatory military service in South Korea, according to Korea Hana Foundation, a state-funded organization helping defectors, Thursday.
Kim Ji-hwan, 22, was discharged on Feb. 23 after serving two years as an Air Force sergeant in the 8th Fighter Wing in Wonju, Gangwon Province.
Kim is the first North Korean defector to have completed military service here, according to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA).
All able-bodied South Korean men aged between 19 and 37 are subject to compulsory military duty. But those who escaped from North Korea can legally refuse the draft under the Conscription Law, the MMA said.
Despite this, Kim applied for service in the Air Force. There are no other North Korean defectors serving in the military.
Kim fled to South Korea with his family in 2005. [Korea Times]
![Boeing P-8 Poseidon, an advanced maritime surveillance aircraft. [U.S. NAVY WEBSITE]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/jmnet/koreajoongangdaily/_data/photo/2016/08/31211656.jpg?resize=600%2C399)
