Securing Power That Could Replace US Army

The Ministry of National Defence has announced that one of the Korean Military's long term goals is to achieve a level of military power capable of replacing or substituting the role that the US Army plays in Korea.

The ministry has pointed out in their report titled 'National Defense and Expenses' that, "It is necesssary to increase military power in case there is a change of attitude or a withdrawal of the US Army from Korea, and therefore, an increase in the defense budget is required."

Moreover the report is concerned with the modernization of the military. The Defence Ministry has stated that they should only train the number of regular army necessary to maintain stability after the unification of the two Koreas. Therefore, it is suggested that they gradually reduce the number of soldiers from the present 690,000 to 400,000-500,000 people once stability has been achieved after unification.

by Kim Min-seok