Maybe South Korea should mass produce these missles and sell them to Ukraine?:
South Korea’s military test-fired a short-range ballistic missile Thursday to demonstrate it could “respond to any North Korean provocations” following the communist regime’s recent missile launches.
The South Korean Missile Strategy Command fired a Hyunmoo-2 missile from South Chungcheong Province, about 65 miles southwest of Seoul, to demonstrate the command’s ability to make “precision strikes against the enemy’s origin of provocation,” according to a news release Friday from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The domestically made weapon flew roughly 125 miles to strike a simulated target in the Yellow Sea, also known as the West Sea, the Joint Chiefs said.
Senior army Members of Senior Army, an organization of senior citizens who have volunteered to be reserve troops, salute the national flag before their drill at a reservist training ground in Chuncheon, 74 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Nov. 4, 2024. (Yonhap)
Several Korean military officers were reported to have joined Australian Defence Force, attracted by citizenship offers and better treatment. Some senior Aus officers visiting ROK even directly encouraged Korean military officers to join: https://t.co/6UmArSDsc6
I argue the ROK military is not seeing a rise in sexual misconduct, but instead a rise in females willing to report it:
The number of reports of sexual misconduct against female service members has surged in recent years, increasing by more than sixfold from 2020 to 2023, a lawmaker said Wednesday, citing data from the defense ministry.
The number of such reports stood at 135 in 2020 before reaching 366 in 2021, 673 in 2022, 867 in 2023 and 604 as of September this year, according to the data submitted to Rep. Hwang Hee of the main opposition Democratic Party.
Of the total 2,645 cases over the period, 1,730 were reports of sexual harassment, while 915 were those on other sexual violence, such as rape and sexual assault.
The South Korean military held its second consecutive Armed Forces Day parade, marking the first time since 1987 that such a parade has been held two years in a row, despite criticism it is a relic of the country’s past military dictatorships. https://t.co/2s9LWFTPzH
At this point you just have to assume that any Chinese made electronic device has the ability to spy on you and that includes the Chinese made smartphone in your pocket:
South Korea’s military has been forced to remove more than 1,300 surveillance cameras from its bases after learning that they could be used to transmit signals to China, Yonhap news agency reported.
The cameras, which were supplied by a South Korean company, “were found to be designed to be able to transmit recorded footage externally by connecting to a specific Chinese server”, the outlet reported an unnamed military official as saying.Korean intelligence agencies discovered the cameras’ Chinese origins in July during an examination of military equipment, Yonhap said.
While some of the cameras were near the border with North Korea, they weren’t monitoring it and were instead focused on training bases and fences, the official said.
Drones are now an extremely important part of modern warfare and the ROK military is planning to purchase some of the most combat proven systems:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects what the North claims to be suicide drones at the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences, Aug. 24, in this photo released by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency two days later. Yonhap
The South Korean military is set to purchase Polish loitering munitions within this year, a move experts believe will significantly bolster the nation’s ability to counter North Korea’s purported suicide drones. The Polish drones, proven effective on the battlefield in Ukraine against Russian forces, could be a game changer in airborne warfare, analysts said.
According to military sources, Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense recently submitted a request to acquire military drones to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which is now preparing to announce the bid.
Fighter aircraft is the latest defense industry that ROK defense contractors are hoping to take market share of:
South Korea, an industrial and tech powerhouse, was once so poor that its citizens donated money so the government could buy five American fighter jets in case of a North Korean invasion. Now, South Korea is a global weapons producer and seller. It is the third-largest arms supplier to NATO countries, with affordable weapons for nations seeking to refill their stockpiles of K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers and other items.
Its ascent underscores the nation’s dramatic economic and diplomatic evolution since that 1975 national fundraising drive for the American F-4 Phantoms. South Korea retired those Cold War-era jets in June after more than five decades in use — making way for a new generation of homegrown fighter aircraft that will make South Korea one of the few nations to develop its own supersonic jet.
South Korea hopes its KF-21 Boramae will be a cheaper alternative to the U.S.-made F-35. The prototype was unveiled in 2021, and mass production is set to begin in 2026. “South Korea is making a big push to engage globally,” said Peter Layton, a military analyst and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in Brisbane, Australia. “They’re going from a big buyer to not just a maker but a designer of aircraft.”
The very politically charged death of a Marine that died last year from drowning during a botched rescue attempt, has led to charges against multiple officers:
In this file photo, Lee Yong-min, former commander of the Marine Corps’ 7th battalion, pays his respect on June 13, 2024, at the tomb of a Marine conscript who died during a search for missing downpour victims last year. (Yonhap)
Police decided Monday not to charge a Marine division commander accused of responsibility in last year’s death of a young solider during a search operation for flood victims, only referring six other officers to the prosecution for indictment.
The result of the politically sensitive investigation came a year after the then 20-year-old Marine conscript, surnamed Chae, was swept away by a torrent during a search for missing downpour victims in the southeastern county of Yecheon on July 19 last year. He was found dead half a day later.
The death sparked national outrage over initial findings that conscripts, including Chae, were mobilized for the risky search mission to comb through a swollen, torrential and muddy stream without proper safety gear, such as life jackets or ropes, resulting in Chae’s death.
On Monday, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency in Andong, near Yecheon, announced that it has decided to forward six military field commanders, including the commander of Chae’s battalion and another battalion chief, to the prosecution on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.
You can read more at the link, but the political aspect of this case occurred when the Marine Corps division commander tried to allegedlly cover up the investigation. The claims are that the division commander was covering up on behalf of President Yoon. This interference is being investigated separately.
