Text Fwd: Ministry offers 7% rise in 2011 defense budget

Korea Times
Ministry offers 7% rise in 2011 defense budget
06-30-2010 22:16
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter

The Ministry of National Defense has called for a 6.9 percent increase in defense spending next year, citing the need for bolstering its defense posture against North Korean provocation, ministry officials said Wednesday.

The ministry submitted the spending plan scaled at 31.6 trillion won ($25.9 billion) to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

In detail, the ministry asked for 21.65 trillion won, a 5.8 percent increase, for operational costs, including salaries for soldiers, and 9.95 trillion won, a 9.4 percent rise, for arms improvement plans

The request for increasing defense expenditures follows the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in the West Sea in March caused by, according to a Seoul-led multinational investigation team, a North Korean torpedo attack. The sinking of the Cheonan claimed the lives of 46 sailors.

Since then, calls have been growing to spend more money to build and acquire weapons systems to deter North Korea's asymmetrical and irregular warfare tactics.

The ministry also wants to improve the welfare of soldiers.

"There is a need to improve our military capabilities against emerging threats in the region. In particular, we feel a sense of urgency in beefing up our systems to thwart a North Korean provocation or infiltration in the wake of the Cheonan sinking," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Gen. Han Min-koo, a nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), echoed the calls for increasing defense spending.

"Should I take over as the JCS chief, I'll ask the President and the defense minister to increase the defense budget by 7 percent or more," Han said at a National Assembly confirmation hearing.

Budget constraints have haunted the country's ambitious military modernization program, dubbed the "Defense Reform 2020."

When the reform plan was originally formulated in 2005, the budget for this year was projected to increase to about 33 trillion won ($28 billion). But the money decreased to 29.6 trillion won.

For the 15-year period from 2006 to 2020, the original plan had a combined budget of 621 trillion won, including 75 trillion won to acquire advanced weapons to offset a planned manpower reduction by 2020.

According to the 2009 review of the plan, the aggregate 15-year budget decreased to 599 trillion won.

Based upon the low budget increase in 2010, and before adjustments for the Cheonan incident, the 15-year total would be more like 540 trillion won, an 80-trillion-won shortfall from the original plan, according to defense experts.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.krmailto:

Text Fwd: Defense Reform 2020 to be revised for NK threat

An MH-60S minesweeper helicopter

Korea Times
05-26-2010 17:14
Defense Reform 2020 to be revised for NK threat

By Jung Sung-ki Staff reporter The five-year-old defense reform initiative aimed at building smaller but high-tech armed forces is under intense review following the sinking of the frigate in a "surprise attack" by North Korea The Defense Reform 2020 plan was initiated in 2005 by the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration in pursuit of a "self-reliant" military that could deal with regional threats beyond defense against a North Korean invasion. The plan included reducing the number of standing troops and instead equipping the armed forces with advanced weapons systems by 2020 in stages. The Roh administration believed the level of North Korean threat would decrease gradually with the help of its engagement policy. Against that backdrop, the previous administration put more emphasis on developing a blue-water Navy and advanced Air Force, rather than strategies to deter North Korea's conventional forces. But the situation has changed drastically, as the Cheonan tragedy reminded South Koreans that they are facing one of the most belligerent regimes in the world, defense experts say. "Last year's revision of the original Defense Reform 2020 called for boosting a readiness against North Korea's asymmetrical threats and its weapons of mass destruction. But the new version still ignored its conventional capabilities," Cha Doo-hyeon, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), told The Korea Times. "A case in point is a submarine attack as seen in the Cheonan sinking." "So now we need a critical and comprehensive review of the defense reform plan to look at what are the real threats we're facing now and then how can we readjust reform plans enough to thwart such threats," said the researcher. Some analysts are worried that the reform plans would be too much focused on the North Korean threat to cope with emerging, regional threats in the long-term. "I'm worried that defense authorities will be in a hurry to come up with stop-gap measures, not envisioning long-term military development," a former Navy admiral said, asking not to be named. "The best scenario is drawing up plans to deal with both North Korean and regional threats in the future. I hope the Defense Reform plan is readjusted and refocused in a more balanced manner." Last year, the Ministry of National Defense revised the Defense Reform 2020, amid growing calls to prepare for North Korean asymmetrical threats and its nuclear and missile programs. The first revision called for securing independent capabilities to remove such North Korean weapons by deploying sophisticated surveillance, reconnaissance and precision-strike assets. Key procurement items included high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, a ground-based early warning radar, PAC-3 interceptors and SM-3 ship-to-air missiles. The Army is supposed to triple the number of its K-9 self-propelled howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems to counter attacks by the North's long-range artillery near the border under the plan. The military readjusted its target troop cut number to 517,000. The original plan called for reducing the troop level from 690,000 to 500,000 by 2020. Changes in procurement plans Following the Cheonan incident, military authorities are seeking to readjust their operational and arms acquisition priorities, as the naval disaster revealed the lack of necessary equipment. For example, the Navy came under heavy fire for failing to swiftly respond to the incident. The service dispatched two minesweepers from the Southern Fleet command in Jinhae to the western waters to search for the wreckage, but the vessels arrived there nearly two days after the incident. A fishing boat equipped with a fish finding sonar found the sunken ship faster than the minesweepers. Critics said minesweeper helicopters could have sped up the search-and-rescue operation. Compared with minesweepers, helicopters can defend larger areas faster; they can also lay mines in an enemy's littorals to hamper its ships or lock them into a harbor. The aircraft can also carry special forces into enemy territory. On Tuesday, the Cabinet endorsed 35.2 billion won ($29 million) in supplementary funds to procure and maintain weapons systems and defense equipment. The supplementary budget is to be used to upgrade warship sonar, deploy sound surveillance systems for islands near the sea border and develop an indigenous three-dimensional radar system among others. The military also plans to buy minesweeper and anti-submarine helicopters. Potential helicopters include the Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk and AgustaWestland EH101. Under the MH-X project, the Navy had requested to buy eight multi-mission helicopters with airborne mine countermeasures to find North Korean mines, but the program was put on the back burner mainly because of financial constraints. According to a Cheong Wa Dae source, President Lee has directed an increase in expenditure for weapons procurement to cope with North Korea's irregular warfare. Lee apparently called for spending about 3 trillion won within his term, the source said. Irregular or asymmetrical warfare uses more special forces to conduct operations than regular forces, as well as the unconventional use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons systems. Budget support Many defense experts shared the view that to better overhaul, readjust or sustain the reform plans, budgetary support is essential. "The 2009 version of Defense Reform 2020 had a focus on improving ground forces while delaying some arms improvement plans for the Navy and Air Force due to budget constraints," Lee Sang-ho, a researcher at the Sejong Institute said. "For the original version or the 2009 revision, a securing relevant budget is the most important part, so that government authorities should first recognize a certain level of increase in defense expenditure is essential." Budget shortfalls have haunted the defense reform plan. The National Assembly passed a 29.5-trillion-won in funding for defense last year, which represents a 3.6 percent increase from the previous year but a decrease from the original plan proposed by the Ministry of National Defense, which had called for a 7.9-percent increase. Bruce Bennett, a chief researcher at the U.S.-based private defense think tank, RAND Corporation, said a budget problem would affect ongoing works to overhaul the defense reform plan and planned transition of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. to Korean commanders in 2012. The original reform plan had been estimated to cost a whopping 621 trillion won based on the assumption that the country's domestic product and government expenditures would grow in parallel at roughly 7.1 percent a year from 2006 to 2020. In other words, the Roh administration anticipated the defense budget would grow by 9.9 percent a year from 2006 through 2010, then about 8.8 percent per year from 2011 through 2015, and then on average 1 percent per year from 2016 through 2020. But that estimation has been proven wrong.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: Vice Navy Chief Tapped to Serve as Commander

* Image source: same as the below link
'Kim Sung-chan'

Korea Times
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Sung-chan has been designated to head the Navy, a spokesman announced Monday.

The appointment is subject to approval by the Cabinet, a meeting of which, presided over by President Lee Myung-bak, is slated for Tuesday.

Kim, if approved, will replace Adm. Jung Ok-keun and be sworn in to serve for two years.

Kim, 56, is known to be an expert on policy, strategy and operations as he has served at key posts of the Ministry of National Defense and the Navy headquarters.

He served as chief policymaker and official in charge of arms improvement at the Navy headquarters, and commander of the Navy's First Fleet. He was born in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province.

Kim played a leading role in working out plans to boost the country's naval power under the Defense Reform 2020 initiative and promoting the country's naval weapons systems.

Text Fwd: Military Considers Longer Basic Training

Korea Times
12-27-2009 19:57
Military Considers Longer Basic Training
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

The military is considering doubling the period of basic military training for conscripts in a bid to fill a possible gap in combat readiness from the planned reduction in service period, sources said Sunday.

The idea was first discussed during a meeting of top military brass on Dec. 9, and the Ministry of National Defense is studying follow-up measures, they said.

``We're considering an option to have recruits undergo three to five weeks of additional training following the mandatory five-week basic training,'' a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

Follow-up training will focus on allowing recruits to learn specified skills for their jobs, he said.

Currently, recruits are required to undergo five weeks of basic military training before their two-year-long compulsory service in the military. South Korea maintains the conscription system in which all able-bodied men over 19 must serve in the military for 24 to 27 months.

The military has been studying ways to resolve problems concerning a potential manpower shortage that could arise in coming years as a result of reducing the military service period in stages, as well as the troop reduction plan under the Defense Reform 2020.

The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration decided to shorten the service period by six months by 2014. Critics have said the plan was politically motivated to win support from young voters ahead of the 2012 presidential election without solving any potential problems from the lack of manpower.

Last month, the defense ministry hinted that it might consider reducing the planned cut in the service period from six months to between two and three months, responding to questions by ruling party lawmakers.

Rep. Yoo Seung-min of the governing Grand National Party said the results of a 2003 study made by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses showed that the service period should be at least 22 months to secure ``well-trained'' service members.

`Reducing the service period by as much as six months, only on the basis of a government decision without a national consensus, is too excessive,'' Yoo said. ``We should come up with measures to prevent a possible security vacuum as a result of an excessive reduction in the service period.''

An interim study by the ministry showed that under the original service-period reduction plan, there would be a shortage of some 2,000 service members by 2021, and the number would increase up to 90,000 by 2045, given the current low birthrate and the decrease in the country's male population.

Delays in procuring planned weapons systems due to an insufficient increase in defense budgets have also affected the reduction plan. The Roh administration believed the reduction in the service period would be feasible assuming that the defense budget could increase by 7.9 percent every year until 2020.

Next year's defense budget proposal, however, marks only a 7.3-percent increase.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: Cutting Military Service Period by 2 to 3 Months Suggested

Korea Times
11-24-2009 19:43
Cutting Military Service Period by 2 to 3 Months Suggested
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter

In a change of position, the Ministry of National Defense is considering reducing the planned cut in the compulsory military service period from six months to two to three months.

In response to questions from ruling party lawmakers, the ministry submitted a document to the National Assembly earlier this month in which it said the reduction would play a role in resolving problems concerning a potential manpower shortage that could arise as a result of implementing defense reform plans, ministry officials said.

The Defense Reform 2020 plan calls for downsizing the number of troops by 270,000 by 2020 in stages and instead equipping the armed forces with high-tech weapons systems.

Under the original plan decided under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, the service periods for the Army, Navy and Air Force are to be shortened to 18, 20 and 22 months, respectively, by 2014.

Critics have said the policy was politically motivated to win support from young voters ahead of the 2012 presidential election without solving any potential problems from the lack of manpower.

Against that backdrop, lawmakers from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) submitted bills to restrict the planned reduction in the mandatory service period.

Rep. Yoo Seung-min of the GNP proposed a bill to reduce the service periods of each military branch by four months.

Yoo cited the results of a 2003 study made by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. The study said that the service period should be at least 22 months to secure “well-trained” service members.

“Reducing the service period by as much as six months, only on the basis of a government decision without a national consensus, is too excessive,'” Yoo said. “We should come up with measures to prevent a possible security vacuum as a result of an excessive reduction in the service period.”

The ministry will commission a fresh feasibility study to the institute next year before making a final decision on the issue.

An interim study by the ministry showed that under the original service-period reduction plan, there would be a shortage of some 2,000 service members by 2021, and the number of would increase to up to 90,000 by 2045, given the current low birthrate and the decrease in the country’s male population.

Delays in procuring planned weapons systems due to an insufficient increase in defense budgets have also affected the reduction plan. The Roh administration believed the reduction in the service period would be feasible assuming that the defense budget could increase by 7.9 percent every year until 2020.

Next year’s defense budget proposal, however, marks only a 7.3-percent increase.

Korea maintains a compulsory conscription system in which all able-bodied men over 19 are required to serve in the military.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr