Tag: ROK military

I did not realize the ROK military segregated their female servicemembers into their own Women’s Army Corps:

South Korea’s female troops have grown to nearly ten-thousand in number but gender discrimination continues to be a problem.

In a Friday seminar hosted by the Defense Ministry to discuss ways to realize gender equality in the barracks, Kangwon National University Professor Cho Seok-hee called for defusing gender discrimination against female soldiers.

Cho, who was discharged in 2011 after serving as the head of Women’s Army Corps School, cited disadvantages in the commission rate of women. She also said verbal abuse and remarks on one’s appearance still persist in the military.

She proposed scrapping the current guidelines on the use of female military personnel and creating a new department exclusively dealing with female troop personnel affairs and difficulties.

The Women’s Army Corps was founded on September 6, 1950 and celebrates its 65th anniversary on Sunday. The number of troops has grown to some 97-hundred as of July.   [KBS World Radio]

U.S. and ROK forces to hold unscheduled live-fire drills near North Korean border after DMZ ambush HT @ISNJH @140DPRK http://t.co/1ZJ4FYz558

— Andrew NK (@northkoreafront) August 12, 2015

Moon Jae-in (front), chief of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, takes part in a tire drag training exercise with South Korean soldiers at an airborne unit of the Army in Seoul on June 24, 2015, one day ahead of the 65th anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War. Moon completed his compulsory military service at the unit. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

South Korea had another successful test of their newest ballistic missile:

President Park Geun-hye watched South Korea’s first test-fire of a ballistic missile capable of reaching nearly all parts of North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, in an apparent show of force against the communist archrival.

The test-firing took place at a firing range run by the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said.

It is the first time in three decades that a president visited the firing range on the west coast.

The move came amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s provocative actions in recent weeks, including a launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but South Korea was allowed to start developing these missiles by the United States back in 2012. Considering the technological advantage South Korea has over the North I am sure they can rapidly develop some great ballistic missile systems.

Something to keep in mind is that if these missiles can target all areas of North Korea they will also have the range to target large Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing.  I wonder if the ROK continues to develop ballistic missiles to counter the North that this will get the Chinese government to try and reel in the North Koreans?  This seems like the best reason for the ROK to continue the development of ballistic missiles.

The new submarine that the ROK is commissioning actually has some really good capabilities and range:

South Korea unveiled a new 1,800-ton attack submarine on Thursday amid its stepped-up efforts to cope with evolving maritime security challenges such as from North Korea.

The 214-class submarine, the country’s sixth, was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. and for the first time named after a woman ― Yu Gwan-sun, a venerated independent fighter during Japanese colonial rule.

Defense Minister Han Min-koo, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Chung Ho-seop, other top military and industry officials and Yu’s families attended the launching ceremony held on Geojedo Island, South Gyeongsang Province.

“The submarine is equipped with antiship, antisubmarine and offensive mining operations capabilities and will be loaded with Korean cruise missiles capable of precision strikes against key facilities of the enemy,” the Navy said in a statement.

To be commissioned in November 2016, the diesel-powered sub has a maximum underwater speed of 20 knots (37 kilometers per hour), which makes it possible to travel between South Korea and Hawaii without refueling.

It will be operated by Air Independent Propulsion, which bolsters the vessel’s submerged endurance and allows the crew to carry out underwater missions for up to two weeks without access to atmospheric oxygen.

The Navy currently has 13 submarines: nine 1,200-ton, 209-class submarines and four 1,800-ton, 214-class submarines. By 2019, its fleet is slated to be expanded to 18 submarines with the addition of five 214-class submarines.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link, but this submarine may be why the North Koreans have been reportedly conducting their own submarine based missile tests.

Soldiers take a look at an self-heating lunch box at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul on April 28, 2015, as they attend a public hearing on the innovation of combat food. (Yonhap)

S Korea added $8 billion to defense budget for growing #NorthKorea nuclear threats http://t.co/MsIYhnHzI4 pic.twitter.com/U8w073yPJI

— The Korea Times (@koreatimes) April 20, 2015

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Shirtless South Korean soldiers conducted an exercise in heavy snow in Pyeongchang, about 180km east of Seoul, in temperatures below -20°C.

More than 150 Chunma Special Force Army members stripped off their shirts and shouted army slogans during a physical strength training exercise.  [International Business Times]

You can read and see more pictures at the link, but this picture is just asking for a caption contest.

The US may want an interoperable BMD architecture with the ROK, but they continue to maintain they are going to develop their own BMD system:

 

Building an interoperable missile defense system is a key focus the United States places on trilateral cooperation with its two key Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, a senior American diplomat said.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Anita Friedt made the remark at the Japan Institute of International Affairs in Tokyo earlier Friday, echoing what Assistant Secretary Frank Rose said during a recent trip to Seoul, according to the State Department.

“With regards to trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the ROK … Developing an interoperable regional missile defense architecture is an important future area of focus in light of the increasing nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea,” she said.

“We believe that future trilateral cooperation between the United States, the ROK, and Japan can positively impact our deterrence efforts against North Korean aggression and send a powerful message of deterrence to the DPRK (North Korea),” she added.

The U.S. wants to build a regional missile defense with South Korea and Japan in a move that critics say is aimed not only at countering North Korean threats, but also keeping China in check. Seoul has said it will build its own Korean Air and Missile Defense System (KAMD) in a way that is interoperable with the U.S. system.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the ROK is trying to take the middle road on this to balance their relationship with China and the US.  China doesn’t want an interoperable architecture so the ROK has maintained they will build their own missile defense system.  However, as the article states the ROK’s KAMD system can be developed to be interoperable with the US if needed.