Maybe US Defense Secretary Mattis’ recent trip to South Korea was to drop off a copy of the Army’s SHARP manual: 😉
Defense Minister Song Yong-moo (2nd from R) speaks during a meeting of top ministry and military officials at the ministry’s building in Seoul on July 4, 2018, in this photo provided by his office. (Yonhap)
Defense Minister Song Young-moo pledged Wednesday to eradicate the military’s political interference and sexual violence following a series of unsavory incidents that have sapped public confidence and troop morale.
Operatives from the cyber warfare command and the Defense Security Command (DSC) have been accused of having posted online comments in favor of former conservative governments in breach of their duty to maintain political neutrality.
This week, the military also came under fire after a senior Navy officer was put under emergency arrest for allegedly attempting to sexually assault his female subordinate while under the influence of alcohol.
“Recently, things that should never have happened in the military have occurred. These incidents have resulted in a tremendous loss of citizens’ confidence in the military,” the minister said in his opening remarks at an emergency meeting of about 40 top ministry and military officials on discipline.
“I, as the minister, will take measures to ensure that the illegal political interference by the DSC and cyber command will be the last in the history of our armed services. Also, through the efforts, I will try to make organizational, institutional and legal improvements,” he added.
The meeting that Song called to check on “lax discipline” comes amid concerns that the emerging mood for peace with North Korea and the recent suspension of a major South Korea-U.S. military exercise could weaken the allies’ military readiness.
At the meeting, participants focused on the causes of sexual violence and deadly accidents in the military, and measures to prevent them. [Yonhap]
It will be interesting to see if alternative service fixes this currently problem of jailing people for not doing their mandatory service for largely religious reasons:
The Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the revision of the conscription law to allow for alternative service for conscientious objectors by the end of next year, while upholding the criminalization of those who refuse to serve in the military, largely for religious reasons.
The nine-member panel ruled a clause in the Military Service Act, which stipulates that such objectors face up to three years in prison, to be constitutional. The court did so in all its three previous rulings, most recently in 2011.
The decision was made by four votes to four, with one refusing to judge for procedural reasons. It required at least six votes to overturn the past rulings.
“The punishment clause is meant to strike a balance between securing military service resources and the burden of military service. Its legislative purpose is just, and enforcing the military service obligation with criminal punishment is a suitable means to achieve the legislative purpose,” the court said.
The court, however, ruled that another clause in the same law that does not recognize alternative service for conscription is unconformable to the highest law. It ordered the National Assembly to amend the law by the end of 2019. Otherwise, the clause will be scrapped on Jan. 1, 2020.
The decision was made by six to three.
The punishment of objectors without the provision of alternative options is an infringement of freedom of conscience and the principle banning excessive punishment, the court said. [Yonhap]
South Korea’s military has put off its own simulation-based exercise, scheduled for next week, in order to help maintain the momentum of talks with North Korea, a defense official said Wednesday.
The annual command-post practice, called Taegeuk, was scheduled to begin next Tuesday for a three-day run.
“We have decided to postpone it,” the official said, requesting anonymity. “We will review ways to conduct it at the most appropriate time and in the optimal manner.”
It means this year’s exercise has been postponed indefinitely.
The Taegeuk training, launched in 1995, has been held in May or June every year, led by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This year would be the first time for the military to delay its opening. [Yonhap]
South Korea and the United States have decided to suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise slated for August, Seoul’s defense ministry said Tuesday, amid dialogue efforts to denuclearize North Korea.
Shortly after his Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to stop “provocative, inappropriate and expensive” war games with the South, which Pyongyang has decried as an invasion rehearsal.
“Following close cooperation, South Korea and the U.S. decided to suspend all planning activities for the UFG, the defensive exercise slated for August,” the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but remember these joint exercises like UFG can be turned right back on if the North Koreans shows signs of not negotiating in good faith.
It looks like the UFG exercise this year will be very low key if the Kim regime continues to behave:
U.S. and Republic of Korean Soldiers conduct operations in the Combined Joint Task Force-Elimination Headquarters during Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Aug. 28, 2016, in Seoul.
South Korea will conduct annual war games with the United States as planned but will avoid publicizing them to facilitate diplomatic efforts over the North’s nuclear weapons program, the defense ministry said Monday.
North Korea has sharply denounced joint military exercises, which it considers rehearsals for an invasion, ahead of an unprecedented summit planned between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore.
“We will be conducting the U.S.-[South Korean] joint military exercises normally in line with annual plans,” ministry spokesman Lee Jin-woo said during a press briefing. “But we’ll refrain from promoting the contents of the joint drills or opening them to the public as best we can.”
The comments came a day after North Korea criticized the South for planning to join upcoming international maritime drills in Hawaii known as Rim of the Pacific and a major joint exercise with the U.S. called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which begins in August. [Stars & Stripes]
Complaining about the RIMPAC exercise is pretty stupid considering it is held in Hawaii and involves many more countries than just the US and South Korea.
It will be interesting to see how reliable the drones will be in the mountains during the winter months if they do move forward with this plan:
The Defense Ministry says it plans to use drones to transport military supplies to mountainous areas.
A South Korean military official says starting this year, the military will begin testing drone transport of common military items like ammunition and first aid equipment.
Drones are far cheaper and can reach difficult or denied areas.
If the testing works out, all branches of the military would eventually adopt drone transport technology and the military would aim to commercialize it within five years. [KBS World Radio]
So does this mean that the US Fires Brigade will no longer be needed?:
South Korea plans to set up a new guided missile unit that can take down North Korea‘s long-range artillery sites.
Local broadcaster KBS reported that the South Korean army will combine its first and third military headquarters to launch a new ground operation command in October.
Under the new command, an artillery force will be established and armed with tactical ground-to-ground guided missiles that are capable of striking large targets within a short period of time.
A single launch pad can fire four missiles in a matter of seconds, with the rockets capable of traveling more than 93 miles.
Equipped with a precision guidance function, the missiles are said to be ideal for targeting North Korea’s long-range artillery concentrated along the military demarcation line.
Experts say the artillery brigade will also be able to curb enemy threats at an early stage and thermobaric weapons attached onto the warheads could potentially incinerate everything inside a targeted mineshaft. [UPI]
It is stressful enough that Korean men have to do mandatory military service, but now they may have to continue to have a travel ban in place just to appease small business owners that profit from the travel ban:
The South Korean military is reconsidering its initial plan to completely lift the travel ban for soldiers following opposition to the move from representatives from military-heavy regions.
According to the ministry, Vice Minister Suh Choo-suk held a meeting on Wednesday with the mayors or county governors from the inter-Korean border areas and agreed to come up with an “improvement scheme” regarding the plan to abolish the restriction on the areas soldiers can visit during their leave.
The ministry plans to announce a revised plan within the year, considering various factors, including military readiness, military personnel’s basic human rights and economic impacts on the border regions.
Last month, the military accepted a proposal from an internal reform committee to lift the restrictions to guarantee soldiers their human rights. However, the governments and small business owners in the border regions have protested the measure, saying it will negatively affect the regional economies. [KBS Global]
Members of South Korea’s ninth rotational contingent of peacekeeping troops to South Sudan raise their fists in a show of solidarity at a send-off ceremony in Incheon, west of Seoul, on March 5, 2018. South Korea has been participating in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan since March 2013, rotating their contingent every eight months, to help with the country’s reconstruction. (Yonhap)
