'저는 그들의 땅을 지키기 위하여 싸웠던 인디안들의 이야기를 기억합니다. 백인들이 그들의 신성한 숲에 도로를 만들기 위하여 나무들을 잘랐습니다. 매일밤 인디안들이 나가서 백인들이 만든 그 길을 해체하면 그 다음 날 백인들이 와서 도로를 다시 짓곤 했습니다. 한동안 그 것이 반복되었습니다. 그러던 어느날, 숲에서 가장 큰 나무가 백인들이 일할 동안 그들 머리 위로 떨어져 말과 마차들을 파괴하고 그들 중 몇몇을 죽였습니다. 그러자 백인들은 떠났고 결코 다시 오지 않았습니다….' (브루스 개그논)





For any updates on the struggle against the Jeju naval base, please go to savejejunow.org and facebook no naval base on Jeju. The facebook provides latest updates.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Text Fwd: [Exclusive] Lee directs W3 tril. rise in arms buying

Korea Times
[Exclusive] Lee directs W3 tril. rise in arms buying
: Seoul seeking to counter NK’s asymmetrical warfare

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
05-16-2010 17:20

President Lee Myung-bak has directed an increase in expenditure for weapons systems to cope with North Korea's asymmetrical and irregular warfare, a government source said Sunday.

Lee called for spending 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) on arms improvement programs, the source said. The President made the decision during the first meeting of a newly established presidential task force for revamping national security and defense plans last Thursday, he said.

"There is a certain need for changes in defense equipment and weapons systems as well as military operations," Lee told the 15-member panel led by Lee Sang-woo, a former professor who now chairs the Defense Reform Committee.

Lee urged the panel to revise the Defense Reform 2020 initiative after reassessing the existing security situation, including increasing threats posed by North Korea's asymmetrical and guerilla tactics.

"Upon the President's direction, defense authorities are expected to review current arms acquisition plans and readjust their priorities," the source told The Korea Times. "The focus will be on how to thwart the North's asymmetrical and irregular operations."

Irregular and asymmetric warfare uses more special forces to conduct operations than regular forces, as well as the unconventional use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons systems.

A Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said President Lee hadn't directed detailed plans on the arms programs, adding the military will decide upon these.

"For example, buying helicopters for maritime and air-to-ground operations will gain speed in order to help prevent the infiltration of North Korean special forces into the South, or to drop our commandos into enemy areas," the source noted.

Other weapons to be affected by a potential increase in defense expenditure would include upgrades of warships' sonar, deployment of a sound surveillance systems (SOSUS) for islands near the sea border, development of three-dimensional anti-air radar and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bomb, and the acquisition of bunker-busting bombs, he said.

"On the other hand, arms programs aimed at deterring North Korea's conventional threats could be put on the back burner for the time being," he added, apparently referring to the production of the K2 Black Panther main battle tank and K21 infantry fighting vehicle.

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