Great to see this proposed missile about to go into development, but this mobile launcher probably should have been developed many years ago:
This undated image, provided by the defense ministry, shows a test of a Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile. (Yonhap)
South Korea plans to adopt a basic plan as early as next month to develop a new advanced guided missile capable of striking North Korean long-range artillery pieces hidden in caves, the state arms procurement agency said Sunday.
The envisioned missile will be an upgraded version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM), which is dubbed the “long-range artillery killer,” according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
While the existing KTSSM system is operated on a fixed platform, the envisioned missile is expected to be run on a mobile launcher, which will enhance its maneuverability and survivability.
The current KTSSM has a range of 180 kilometers with its caliber at 400 millimeters. Its upgraded version is expected to be larger with a longer operational range of some 300 km.
It seems pretty extreme to conduct some of these self injuries to avoid military service. The mandatory service is not that bad to cripple yourself for the rest of your life to avoid:
Men walk toward an Army barracks after a welcoming ceremony at the Republic of Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, in this January 2018 file photo. An investigation is widening into people suspected of offering money to “consultants” who, in return, share tips on how to avoid their mandatory military service. Korea Times file
A football player damaged his own wrist with heavy dumbbells. Another man even lost his hearing after subjecting his ears to loud horn sounds. Some others faked mental health conditions.
They all did so for the same purpose: dodging their compulsory military service. For many, the almost two years of service is a thankless task given to all able-bodied men born in South Korea, which is technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with only an armistice.
According to Military Manpower Administration data disclosed Tuesday by Rep. Song Gab-seok of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, 321 people have been caught making such attempts to evade conscription over the past five years.
Experts believe the real number of such draft-dodging cases, including those who did not get caught, is far greater. According to data released earlier this week by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, a state-run research center, 335 young men were reported missing in 2021 just before they were to join the military. Nearly 1,800 such cases have occurred in the past four years.
The revelations come amid a widening investigation into the people suspected of offering money to a “consultant” surnamed Koo, who gave them tips on how to avoid military duty.
The broker has been indicted on charges of offering such information to seven people, who allegedly paid him and his accomplice, surnamed Kim, at least millions of won (thousands of dollars) per case. The first hearing on their charges will begin on Friday, with investigators expanding the probe into 100 people now.
It is surprising that this doesn’t happen more around the THAAD base. The fact someone lost probably around a thousand dollars by losing their drone might deter others from trying this:
Military and police personnel resumed a search Wednesday for a presumed civilian drone thought to have crashed after flying near a U.S. THAAD missile defense unit in a southern county the previous day, officials said.
The authorities are conducting the search in areas close to the base in Seongju, 217 kilometers south of Seoul, while police are investigating who sent the drone and for what purpose.
The Army said chances appear low that the drone was mobilized for espionage.
U.S. Forces Korea personnel are known to have first detected the drone flying toward the base at 12:54 p.m. Tuesday and used a jamming gun to bring it down, according to defense sources.
It is good to see that the authorities are going after and arresting these brokers who are trying to get athletes out of completing their mandatory service:
South Korean men seek new options to avoid their two-year mandatory military service, and the number of draft dodgers continues to grow.
According to data provided by Rep. Song Gab-seok of the Democratic Party received from the Military Manpower Administration, 578 people were turned over to prosecution for intentional draft dodging from 2012 until Nov. 30 last year.
Recently, volleyball player Jo Jae-sung was charged with contacting a local military broker to help him show false symptoms of epilepsy during a military reexamination. He was then deemed unfit to serve as a soldier due to this fake health issue, allowing him to serve as a social service agent as an alternative form of service.
The broker he had come in contact with was arrested last month for violating the Military Service Act.
Professional athletes in the fields of soccer, horse riding and bowling are also under investigation for attempting draft evasion with the broker. The names of the others have not been revealed.
The Israeli system would further improve the ROK’s detection capabilities against drone attacks, but does not solve their inability to shoot them down:
file photo dated June 21, 2017, a North Korean drone is displayed at the defense ministry in Seoul after it was discovered in Inje, Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea. Suspected North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border on Dec. 26, 2022, without South Korea’s permission, prompting the deployment of fighter jets, choppers and other assets to shoot them down, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s military is considering the purchase of an Israeli “electric eye” as part of efforts to bolster its capabilities to detect small North Korean drones, a defense source in Seoul said Sunday.
The move comes as the South’s defense authorities have come under fierce criticism for the failure to counter the penetration of five North Korean drones into its airspace late last month. It was belatedly revealed that one of them even intruded into the no-fly zone, called P-73, near the presidential office in the central district of Yongsan.
In order to beef up its airspace defense system, the military is considering pushing for the speedy acquisition of the Sky Spotter system, according to the source.
Built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, it is designed for the early detection and tracking of such aerial objects, including drones, as well as balloons and kites, that are used for terrorist attacks.
Considering that small low cost drones is the future of warfare it is amazing that South Korea didn’t invest in this technology years ago when North Korea first began flying drones into their airspace:
This photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff shows the launching pad for the short-range ground-to-air missile Cheonma during drills to strengthen defense against potential North Korean drone-based provocations in areas around Ganap-ri, Yangju, some 30 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Dec. 29, 2022.
South Korea’s state arms agency said Thursday it will push to speed up the development of a jamming system against small drones after the military’s recent failure to shoot down North Korean drones.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it will look to develop the counter-drone system over a 39-month period starting next year, compared to a 48-month window such a development usually requires.
DAPA also said it has opened bidding for a portable anti-drone jammer, which it plans to purchase and deploy next year.
There was a huge troop reduction during the President Moon years that the current President Yoon is not going to cut further:
South Korean marines pose during a graduation ceremony at Pohang Marine Base, South Korea, Feb. 26, 2016. (Allison Lotz/U.S. Marine Corps)
The South Korean military will maintain its current troop levels despite ongoing threats from North Korea’s military, according to a Ministry of National Defense prospectus released Wednesday.
South Korea will maintain its active-duty force of 500,000 service members until 2027, the five-year outlook states. The nation’s military numbered 618,000 active-duty troops in 2018, but was steadily downsized to 500,000 this year due to “a rapid decrease in young population,” according to the blueprint.
The plan adds 1,000 commissioned officers to the ranks while cutting 1,000 enlisted positions by 2027. Roughly 201,000 officers and 299,000 enlisted service members currently serve in South Korea’s military.
President Yoon appears to be highly upset that the ROK military has not developed the technology to counter North Korean drones:
President Yoon Suk Yeol berated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup over the military’s failed operation against five North Korean drones that entered South Korean airspace earlier this week, officials said Wednesday.
Yoon met with Lee on Tuesday morning and was briefed on the military’s response to the North’s violation of South Korean airspace the previous day.
The drones flew across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, with one flying over northern parts of Seoul, but the South Korean military failed to shoot them down.
“How can there be none preparing against North Korean drone attacks? There were many similar incidents in the past, so what have you been doing until now?” Yoon said during the meeting, according to one official who relayed the exchange.
KA-1 light attack aircraft crashes in northeastern town Military police cover the wreckage of a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft with a blue plastic sheet after it crashed on a rice paddy in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea, on Dec. 26, 2022. Its two pilots safely escaped with no damage to civilian homes reported, the Air Force said. (Yonhap)
What the ROK should invest in to compliment the Japanese military buildup is to invest their Army capabilities, short-range missile defense, and counter artillery/rocket systems to off set North Korea. Let the Japanese build expensive aircraft carriers, long range missile defense, and aircraft to counter China, but what we will likely see is Korea continue to build expensive ships and aircraft to keep up with the Jones in the region:
The Japanese government’s approval of a massive rearmament program to counter China and North Korea’s threats poses a new task for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to look into ways to take advantage of Tokyo’s military buildup to serve Seoul’s security interests, according to experts.
“The recent updates of Japan’s national security strategy now demand South Korea to explore how it will use Japan’s military buildup to contribute to the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation to counter North Korea’s nuclear ambitions,” said Jin Chang-soo, the director of Sejong Institute’s Center for Japanese Studies.
“As we use lines of credit for contingencies, national security also requires protection tools for contingencies. … Since South Korea needs the trilateral security cooperation to counter the North’s threat, there will not likely be a major change in the Yoon government’s dovish Japan policy. Rather, the focus should be on how Seoul can take advantage of Japan’s defense cost hike as an opportunity to improve its national security and how it can monitor Japan’s military expansion transparently.”
The advice came after Japan, Friday, unveiled three updated documents on its national security strategies and proclaimed a military buildup, which is seen as the biggest one since World War II and a major breakaway from its defense-only principle.
