'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.
Showing posts with label South Korea military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Korea military. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

[ROK MND News Catch up] [May 9-13] Korea and U.S. marines discuss joint operations /

____________________________
Recent News (May 9 to 13) of the Ministry of National Defense, ROK
http://www.mnd.go.kr/mndEng_2009/WhatsNew/RecentNews/index.jsp
________________________________
NO. 766
Korea and U.S. marines discuss joint operations
May 13, 2011


South Korean and the United States marines showed strong will to counteract against North Korean provocations during tactics discussion held in Baengnyeong Island near the inter-Korean maritime border on Yellow Sea.

Marine officers from South Korea and the U.S. discuss on May 12 military matters regarding joint drills aimed at defending western islands on Yellow Sea during tactics discussion session held on Baengnyeong Island.

Marine officers from South Korea and U.S. held tactics discussion for two days since May 11 and exchanged views toward major matters related to joint military drills and the wartime operational control transfer.

On the Korean side, senior officers, including operations planning officer under the Marine Corps, and on the U.S. side Col. Thomas Ward and Lt. Col. Turner Larry under the U.S. Pacific Marine Corps Command joined the discussion.

Two countries discussed about schedule plan for joint drill on western islands and reviewed overall conditions of soldiers' lodging facilities and terrain at training field that U.S. marines are going to use.

Two agreed to regularly hold tour sessions for U.S. marines coming to South Korea for drills.

In addition, two sides discussed preparations and measures for strengthening joint exercises in the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, a joint command and control simulation exercise between South Korea and U.S.

"Western islands are strategic locations where North Korea and provoke any time," said a South Korean marine officer who took part in the discussion. "South Korean and U.S. marines will become a role model of defending any military attacks immediately on site with strong joint operations."

Col Ward said that, "It is the first time South Korean and U.S. marines jointly hold tactics discussion on western islands since the end of the [1950-53] Korean War. South Korea and U.S. will cooperate closely so that the North would never make provocations like the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island."
_________________________________
No. 765
Mungyeong will host Military World Games in 2015
2011-05-16 17:24

May 13, 2011

The location for the 6th Military World Games, a multi-sport event for military athletes that is held every four years, has been decided to be held in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang, in 2015.

The International Military Sports Council (CISM), the event's organizer, held its 66th general meeting at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel on May 12 and made decision to open the event at Mungyeong in 2015. After the decision is made, Col. Kalkaba, the head of CISM, and Kim Il-saeng, the head of the Office of Personnel and Welfare at the South Korea's Defense Ministry, signed a written agreement.

South Korea had submitted it bid to hold the event exclusively at CISM's board meeting in Algeria on March this year. The organizer of the event gave the final approval in Seoul for Mungyeong to be the next venue for the event.

The Defense Ministry received its approval for a bid effort to hold the event from the Finance Ministry on August last year. The Defense Ministry had planned to select six cities, including Mungyeong, in North Gyeongsang, for the event.

The Military World Games, in which only active-duty military personnel can participate, is designed to boost friendship through sports and contribute in building world peace.
___________________________________
No. 764
KATUSA's medical record to be transferred to Korean Army
2011-05-16 17:17

May 12, 2011

The Korean Army is going to take over medical records of Korean soldiers under the United States Army, a.k.a Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army (KATUSA), in Korea from the U.S. Army. From next month, KATUSA reserves will be able to check their medical records easily.

Korean Army's Records Center said that the center and U.S. 65th Medical Brigade signed a written agreement on May 6 agreeing to transfer KATUSA's medical records saved in U.S. Army to Korean Army.

The agreement was made as two sides shared common grounds to exchange medical information quickly in case people need those records as references in civil complaints.

Even though KATUSA is clearly a Korean troops, medical records of KATUSAs have been managed by U.S. Army hospital so far and they are kept in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) after KATUSAs are discharged from the service.

KATUSA reserves have to go through complex process before being authorized to see their own medical records, such as apply for the records online on NARA web site and receive records via mail after long days. Korean and U.S. Army agreed to ease such inconvenience.

Under the agreement, Korean Army's Records Center is scheduled to take over medical records of KATUSA reserves who were discharged after January 2008 beginning next month. Also active-duty KATUSA troops can receive their own records within a month from Republic of Korean Army Support Group after being discharged. Reserves can only call Korean Army's Records Center to see their records and receive them right away.

"Through this agreement, we were able to settle civil complaints related to medical records of KATUSA reserves," said Col. Yun Yong-ki, head of Korean Records Center of the Army. "We will keep on discovering civil matters that should be improved."
_________________________________
No. 763
Overseas dispatch train center being built

May 11, 2011

International Peace Support Force under the Korea's Army Special Warfare Command has completed on May 4 building a center to train troops ahead of being dispatched overseas.

The commander of the Speical Warfare Command, officers from the Capital Defense Command and officials from the Defense Ministry took part in the completion ceremony. The third contingent of Ashena Unit, organized to safeguard about 300 Provincial Reconstruction Team helping Afghanistan civilians, will first take advantage of the center next month before being deployed to the war-torn country.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the three-floor center took place in September 2009. The cost of construction was about 10.5 billion won.

The first floor will play a role of commanding post with a command control room and a seminar room. The second and the third floor has a rest room and other amenities from trainees.
______________________________
No. 762
Destroyer Yi Sun-shin takes over anti-piracy mission
2011-05-16 17:16
May 9, 2011

The Navy destroyer Yi Sun-shin, the 7th contingent of anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit in Somali waters, began its mission on May 6 after destroyer Choi Young handed over the baton, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Korea said.

Destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin, right, and destroyer Choi Young anchors at Salalah port in Oman to shift mission.


Destroyer Yi Sun-shin left Busan naval base on April 5. It had stopped by ports in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates to hold anti-piracy operations intelligence exchange meetings. The destroyer also implemented supplies transportation mission for Akh Unit, Korean special forces unit deployed to UAE to train local forces. Yi Sun-shin arrived at Salalah port in Oman on May 4 to prepare for mission shift from Choi Young.

Some 300 crew members, including UDT/SEAL troops and marines, are on aboard of Yi Sun-shin. Also one anti-submarine Lynx helicopter aimed at searching pirates boats from long distance is on board.

With a support from the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime affairs, in particular, Yi Sun-shin has installed a monitoring system to trace the location of Korean commercial ships around the clock and set up bullet-proof glass around Rigid Inflatable Boats.

In order to strengthen medical service capabilities, medical staffs specializing in surgeries and anesthesia are also added on board.

The 4,400-ton destroyer Yi Sun-shin, which is being deployed for anti-piracy mission in Somali waters for the second time since 2009, has brother sailors Senior Chief Petty Officer Park Chang-uk and Chief Petty Officer Sung-hun on board and 72 sailors are on their second mission in Somali waters, JCS said.

"The 7th contingent of Cheonghae Unit has been trained for all possible emergency situation in order to fulfill the mission successfully," said Capt. Han Dong-jin of Yi Sun-shin. "We will protect Korean ships and the people to take a leading role in revealing greatness of Korea and the Navy throughout the world."

In the meantime, the 6th contingent Choi Young is expected to return Korea at the end of this month.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Text Fwd: [ROK MND News Catch Up-May 2 to 4] Korea and U.S. jointly focus more on western islands

Recent News, Ministry of National Defense, ROK
http://www.mnd.go.kr/mndEng_2009/WhatsNew/RecentNews/index.jsp
Uploaded on 2011-05-09
______________________________________

No. 761
Korea and U.S. jointly focus more on western islands
May 4, 2011

Seoul and Washington once again showed off strong alliance as the United States forces in South Korea supported regular live-firing exercise conducted by South Korean marines on May 3 in waters off Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), de facto maritime border between South and North Korea in the Yellow Sea.

"The United States Forces Korea has improved combat capabilities by assisting South Korea's live-fire drill and revealed firmness of alliance between two countries," said USFK. "Like other regular exercises, U.S. and South Korean forces are able to reinforce joint combat capabilities and communication skills in strategic as well as operational system through this drill."

Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, said that not only at western islands near the NLL but also at other strategic places in South Korea, Seoul and Washington are planning to engage in more joint drill in order to reinforce South Korea-U.S. alliance.

"These joint drills are defensive in nature and focused on deterring North Korea's military provocations and preparing for strong readiness in case deterrence effort fails," Sharp said.

In the meantime, USFK said that 16 U.S. marines and army soldiers joined and observed South Korean marine's live-fire drill. U.S. troops were experts in intelligence, artillery and public affairs, USFK said.

"Military Armistice Commission under the United Nations Command has sent multinational observers to the drill site to check if armistice is being properly followed," USFK said. "The group of multinational observers has confirmed that the drill was conducted under armistice and standard authorized by international community."

_______________________________________

No. 760
Ministry invites former ministers to explain policies
May 2, 2011

Former South Korean defense ministers urged the Defense Ministry on April 29 not to proceed with the 307 National Defense Reform Plan with haste but with prudence.

The Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin, second from left, explains detailed plans and its direction of the Defense Reformation Plan 307 to former defense ministers on April 29 at the ministry in Seoul.

The Ministry of National Defense invited 15 former defense ministers to the ministry in Seoul and explained details of the Defense Reform Plan 307, the ministry said. Among a total of 42 former defense ministers since the foundation of the country in 1948, 23 are alive.

"In the late 1980s when a Defense Reform Plan 8·18 was introduced, we told then opposition party leaders Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung that the plan won't be easy but it went right at the end," said a former minister Lee Sang-hoon. "The basic direction of the 307 plan is good. Just take time to fulfill the plan."

Another former minister Cho Young-gil urged the ministry to listen senior ministers' opinions carefully and reflect them in the new reform plan. Former minister Yoon Kwang-ung supported the new plan by saying it is right to hand over some military administration power to the joint chiefs of staff.

"I hope [current Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff] Gen. Han Min-koo could arrange the plan properly to realize the reform," said a former minister Ro Jae-hyun.

At the end of the meeting, one former minister said their words are given with a spirit of loving the military, according to a defense official at the ministry. The official also said that former ministers urged the ministry to fulfill the plan by keeping in mind opposing voices toward the plan from some military leaders came out not in purpose of opposition itself but to deliver different views.

The official added the former ministers told the ministry to not only link the new plan with the scheduled transfer of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea but also collect public opinions and create common grounds to push ahead with the plan.

_____________________________________________

No. 759
Marine 1st Division reinforce rapid response skill
May 2, 2011


South Korean Marine 1st Division strengthened its rapid response capabilities by conducting a regimental landing operation called 'Modeling' drill in a bid to maintain firm readiness.



Advance military unit approaches toward a seashore by removing obstacles with 5,000-ton Dokdo seeing behind during a special landing drill conducted by South Korean Marine 1st Division on April 29 in waters off Pohang, North Gyeongsang.

The drill, which took place on April 29 in waters near Pohang, North Gyeongsang, with a 5,000-ton ship Dokdo, Landing Platform Helicopter, surface battleships and some 30 Korean Assault Amphibious vehicles, was implemented aimed at improving advanced combat capabilities and readiness posture.

The goal of maritime drill was to secure a bridgehead after making breakthrough of the sea and penetrating potential enemy's bulwark.

The drill began with advance forces exploding maritime obstacles. Then with a help of fire from warships and fighters, ground forces made landing from the sea and the air. Troops secured coast bridgehead and took over a target area on the land.

The division, in particular, actively applied a new method so-called 'role-based command method' in this landing exercise. Usually, it takes about more than a week to plan for landing drill but this time military engaged in unexpected landing operation.

Commanding officers has to practice quicker control and decision-making efforts in accordance with scale and capabilities of each unit in order to complete the mission in a short period of time.

"The landing operation is focused on making breakthrough of battles when it comes to a standstill in emergencies and eventually deal a de facto power of a potential enemy a severe blow," said Col. Jeong Cha-seong, a commander of the drill. "We will keep on practicing exercise more realistically and stronger so that we can become a unit that can fight and win."

In the meantime, some 800 chief executive officers of small and medium companies observed the drill and engraved themselves the importance of national security.

______________________________

No. 758
South Korean Navy gets new frigate
May 2, 2011



The South Korean Navy has launched its new 2,300-ton frigate, the Incheon, in a bid to reinforce its deterrence security threats including those from North Korea.

The new 2,300-ton frigate Incheon is launched on April 29 at a shipyard of its builder, the Hyundai Heavy Industries, in Ulsan.

The launching ceremony of the Incheon was attended by nearly 300 people including Adm. Kim Sung-chan, chief of naval operations, and Lee Jai-seong, Hyundai Heavy Industries president, on April 29 at the industries' shipyard in Ulsan.

The Navy gave the name of the new frigate 'Incheon' and the number '811' at the ceremony. The historical whistle was sounded to celebrate the launch when Kim's wife cut a ceremonial tape.

The Navy is expected to receive the Incheon at the end of next year after going through an evaluation process of the new ship. Its operational deployment is scheduled to begin in the middle of 2013 after several months of testing following the delivery.

The Incheon is known to have higher efficiency than existing 1,200-ton Patrol Combat Corvettes and 1,800-ton frigates. The Navy has built the new battleship much stronger in order to prepare for various future maritime warfares.

In particular, the Incheon is equipped with three-dimensional tracking radar developed with domestic technology, Sound Navigation And Ranging and weapon system capable of hitting mid- and long-range targets. The Navy said about 92 percent of domestic technology is applied to build the Incheon.

The Incheon, measuring 113 meters (370 feet) in length, 14 meters in width and 25 meters in height, has a maximum speed of 30 knots. It can carry a 140 members and one helicopter.

It is equipped with state-of-the art weapons systems and military equipment such as anti-ship and anti-aircraft Rolling Airframe Missiles, as well as a Torpedo Acoustic Counter Measure designed to fight off enemy torpedo attacks.

The Navy is expected that maritime defense capabilities will be more strengthened than before when Incheon is mobilized in full operation and it is going to show the best operational tactics to defend the sea in terms of strategic aspects.

“The enhanced anti-ship, anti-airplane and electronic warfare capabilities of the frigate will effectively annihilate enemy submarines seeking to stealthily invade our waters and anyone attempting to threaten the security of our waters,” said Kim during his speech at the ceremony. “On the occasion of the launch ceremony, we promise that we will stand firm as a strong Navy that is respected by the people and as the most formidable force to our enemies.”

Monday, May 9, 2011

[Korea MND News Catch Up] Military aims to boost defense/ The number of U.S. troops will be maintained / Defense Industry 2020 follow-up plan unveiled

Ministry of National Defense, ROK
Recent News

http://www.mnd.go.kr/mndEng_2009/WhatsNew/RecentNews/index.jsp

____________________________________________________
Image: Attendants listen to presentations from experts during the third 'Defense Green Technology Symposium' which was held on April 26 at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul.

NO 756
2011-05-02 15:07
Military aims to boost defense 'green' technologyApril 27, 2011

The third 'Defense Green Technology Symposium,' organized by the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) aimed at sharing current status of defense green technology development and its research achievements, was held on April 26 at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul.

Some 100 experts from the military, government, academia and industry attended the symposium, which was sponsored by the Presidential Committee on Green Growth. The symposium begin with an opening address delivered by the Vice Minister of National Defense Lee Young-geol. Then Noh Dae-lae, Commissioner of Defense Acquisition ProgramAdministration, delivered welcoming speech.

In a topic presentation session, Kim Hwa-seok, an official responsible for managing military force and resources at the Defense Ministry, and three experts of ADD, presented subjects related to green technology development.

Kim, who made presentation under the title 'Direction for Implementing Defense Green Growth Policy,' explained the necessity of Defense Green Growth by giving examples of worldwide environment changes, special characteristics of defense technology development and aspects of future warfare. Also he introduced measures for successful development of Defense Green Growth, including training troops the importance of green growth and change their lifestyle living with green growth, establishing green growth promotion system in the military and adopting advanced green growth know-hows from other countries.

Choi Chang from ADD said that the agency is in the middle of studying overall scope of the flow of green energy source in order to obtain eco-friendly and green energy technology as well as to prepare of energy security. Choi added that people can anticipate highly on a result of defense eco-friendly energy research since the result will attain the world level. Future arms trade market can also be boosted as a result of the research, Choi said.

Another expert from ADD Kim Dong-hyeon presented the work on developing future weapon system based on taking advantage of low carbon future energy. For instance, hybrid combat vehicle, new energy resource warship and high-altitude unmanned surveillance plane, said Kim.

Expert Lee Yun-hui of ADD revealed the process and current status of building military management technology based on 'Modeling and Simulation' system. In addition, explained many ripple effects that could be caused by an experiment using Modeling and Simulation system, including reinforcing combat capabilities by reducing energy in various battle fields and lessen environment damage as well as danger of leaking toxic waste.

In particular, ADD drew attendants' attention at the symposium by exhibiting eight research achievements, including eco-friendly fuel cell and high mobility hybrid propel system for special-purpose military vehicles.

_________________________________
The number of U.S. troops will be maintained : Ministry
2011-04-25 16:32
April 19, 2011

The Ministry of National Defense of South Korea said on April 18 that the number of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) troops maintains at 28,500.

The ministry's announcement was released in response to some media reports claiming that the number of U.S. troops here reduced to 26,305 in 2009 based on the Base Structure Report by the Pentagon. The ministry also said that there is no change in the number of U.S. troops in South Korea according to a status report of USFK military capabilities.

"The number written on the Pentagon's report is not an actual number of troops but total figure that is estimated based on a scale of facilities they can be accommodated," said a defense official at the ministry.

Even though the number of South Korean and U.S. troops here have been steadily decreased since 2000, Seoul and Washington had agreed during a summit talks between leaders of two countries in April 2008 to maintain the number of U.S. troops in South Korea at 28,500 under a decision that joint defense capabilities should not be weakened when North Korea keep on making military provocations.

______________________________________

Image : Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, talks to reporters at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on April 20.

NO 753
2011-04-25 16:33
USFK is committed to defending Korean Peninsula
April 21, 2011

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is taking priority of defending South Korea and it will also participate in more multinational military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, going beyond its duties to defend the Korean Peninsula.

Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, talks to reporters at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on April 20.

In a press briefing at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on April 20, Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA), said there will be no change of the number of U.S. forces here as agreed on by Seoul and Washington. Johnson stressed that the USFK is always taking top priority of defending South Korea.

He also said that about 500 members of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division had joined joint military exercise in the Philippines earlier this month. In addition, he claimed the USFK has secured transport so troops can immediately return to South Korea from overseas missions in case of emergencies on the peninsula.

"We can strengthen combat capabilities as well as readiness posture if the USFK take part in overseas drills and that will benefit South Korea's security," Johnson said. "Maintaining readiness posture to prepare for actual battles is the reason for the presence of the USFK here."

Following deployment of latest-model M1 tanks, the USFK plans to introduce newest armored combat vehicles this summer, he said.

In response to questions related to the wartime operational control transfer from U.S. to South Korea, he said that even after the transition reinforcement capabilities of U.S. forces to the peninsula in emergencies will be maintained as it is. The commander said he will not make security vacuum while moving U.S. bases from Seoul to Pyeongtaek.

In a separate briefing, an officer under the EUSA said that currently EUSA is experiencing its structure system change from Army Service Component Command to Field Army. The EUSA is focus on combat mission while most of administrative and logistics duties will be transferred to the U.S. Army Pacific.

The officer also said that EUSA is in process of altering work system of U.S. soldiers to serve in South Korea for three years accompanying their families rather than to serve only one year without bringing their families.

"With this change of work system, safe working environment will be created by improving living condition of U.S. soldiers," the officer said. "It is going to strengthen readiness posture as well."

_________________________________

Recent News NO 752
Defense Industry 2020 follow-up plan unveiled
2011-04-25 16:30
April 18, 2011

Eleven defense industry projects, including creating Korean Fighter Experimental (KFX) and Korea Attack Helicopter (KAH) programs, will be handed over to private sector from state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

ADD is planning to increase the number experts to focus on developing Korean-made weapon system and give weight to creating strategic weapon system as well as fundamental core technology.

model fighter jet that is expected to be made from Korean Fighter Experimental program
The Ministry of National Defense and Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the outline of follow-up measures for 'Defense Industry 2020' plan on April 15.

The follow-up plan was first reported to the President Lee Myung-bak in the Presidential Council for Future and Vision in October last year. Since then for six months, defense experts from ministries, government agencies, defense firms and academic field work on details of the plan and reported the final measures during a meeting organized by Yim Tae-hee, Blue House chief of staff.

In particular, the Defense Ministry and DAPA prospects of earning economic benefit worth $4 billion through arms trade and create some 25,000 job positions in case follow-up plan proceed without trouble.

Under the plan, private sectors are expected to have high control over researching and developing general strategic weapon system. After reviewing 13 defense projects responsible for ADD since October last year, DAPA decided to transfer 11 projects to private sector. Among them, six projects, including making new Nuclear-biological-chemical Reconnaissance vehicles, radio sets for small units and target measuring device for Air Control jet, are going to be handed over right away. FTX and KAH programs will be transferred later.

In addition, other projects such as developing new unmanned aerial vehicles to be used in reconnaissance operations, military satellite communication system and anti-artillery detect radar are scheduled to be transferred to private firms but ADD is considering complementary measures for technical parts that private sectors are lack of.

Basically, all defense projects related to developing general strategic weapon system are going to be controlled by private firms from 2012, according to the Defense Industry 2020 follow-up plan. The plan expects to raise the ratio of private firms involved in defense weapon system from current 60 percent to 75 percent.

In order to ease the pressure of project management after transfer, DAPA is planning to strengthen professionalism by increasing the number of experts in the management team.
The follow-up measure said that ADD is going to reinforce professionalism in basic science field by recruiting more experts up to 40 percent from current 16 percent.

Also the number of experts with doctoral degree will be increased up to 60 percent from current 39 percent. In other words, projects aimed at developing strategic weapon system and basic core technology are slated to be more focused than creating general weapon system. ADD is expected to expand the ratio of its own research to 60 percent from current 13.5 percent. So far, ADD has been relying on private contractors for developing weapon system due to heavy burden on the work. The proportion of its own research of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information and Korea Institute of Science and Technology accounts for 96, 97 and 92 percent, respectively.

A special team responsible for managing the use of new weapon system will be created within the Joint Chiefs of Staff in order to contribute in improve its capabilities and domestic industry. The team is going to be consisted of experts from defense industry and economic industry as well as specialists recommended by DAPA.

Under the follow-up plan, a military power review committee which has been operated since December last year will design mission, organization structure and management method so that the new plan could be put into practice systematically and efficiently. The committee will also first review the operation of 21 short- and medium-term defense projects, including K-2 tank, K-11 rifle, new multiple rocket launcher, Future Frigate Experimental and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles.
In order to foster globally competitive defense firms, DAPA and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy will beef up professionalism of defense firms by promoting investment on research and development until July this year, reforming production cost system and improving potential small and medium companies.

Moreover, the government will push for revising a law related to defense reform within this year so that it can establish mandatory plan of using private resources. By August this year, the government is planning to select sectors that can be easily privatized to take advantage of their resources and set up yearly plan.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Text Fwd: Navy and Air Force wary of military command restructuring


Hankyoreh
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/476673.html
Navy and Air Force wary of military command restructuring
:The branches say the Army is moving to place them under their organizational and operational control
Posted on : May.6,2011 15:01 KST
By Lee Soon-hyuk 

A meeting of commanders in the three armed forces is scheduled to take place Friday morning at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul’s Yongsan District. The topics under discussion will reportedly include the unwavering implementation of “National Defense Reform Plan 307” and military unity.

At around the same time, around ten former navy and air force chiefs of staff are scheduled to hold a meeting at the Navy Club in Seoul’s Daebang neighborhood in opposition to the changes in the upper military command structure. Regarding these two contrasting events, a military official sighed, “The military is now looking foolish in front of the people of South Korea.”

At present, command and management of the South Korean military is divided into one side that deals with operational command, and an administration side that focuses on operational support areas such as personnel and armaments.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has held authority for the former, while the Chiefs of Staff of the individual armed forces have wielded authority for the latter. But the reorganization plan for the upper command structure would put the Chiefs of Staff within the military command domain. The aim is to establish an unified operational command system and step up cooperation among the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

This conception is linked with Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin’s repeated calls for a “combat-centered military” since assuming his current position. The idea is to remedy the focus of weight on the individuals holding personnel authority, namely the individual Chiefs of Staff, when it should be focused on the individual with combat and operational command authority, namely the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in light of the military’s fundamental purpose.

“People working at the Joint Chiefs of Staff often have two sets of feelers up,” said an Army general. “One is directed at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is their direct superior, and the other at their own Chief of Staff, who holds personnel powers.”

“How is it possible for an organization like this to focus entirely on preparing for combat and wartime command preparations?” the general asked.

However, observers in the Navy and Air Force suspect an attempt by the Army to effectively requisition their forces. The argument is that it is a move to treat the Navy and Air Force as organizational and operational components of the Army by having a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Army commanding their Chiefs of Staff directly.

Given the continued focus on the Army since the founding of the armed forces, the Navy and Air Force has some degree of cause for this interpretation, but the Army is disparaging it as a self-centered focus on their own individual forces.

Underlying the controversy is the deep-seated distrust and animosity between the Army on one side and the Navy and Air Force on the other. The ratio of Army generals to Navy and Air Force admirals and generals working together in the Joint Chiefs of Staff is roughly 2.5 to 1 and 1. Observers in the Navy and Air Force noted that the Army accounts for the head of the operational headquarters, a lieutenant general, and head of the operational division, a major general, and that Army, Navy, and Air Force brigadier generals and rear admirals occupy the first, second, and third director positions under them handling terrestrial, marine, and aerial operations, respectively.

“Don‘t just look at the ratio of generals and admirals,” commented one observer. “Look at who is holding the positions with real authority.”

The Army countered, “Even when we put Navy and Air Force generals and admirals in major posts, they don’t have the competence or qualifications, so in a lot of cases they just occupy the position before departing.”

Despite the fact that true improvements of collaboration require less organizational chances and more of a “collective mind,” with each of the forces understanding the characteristics and operations of the others, the current situation is not proceeding in that direction. The military leadership has ignored even the measures for improved collaboration that have been amply available under the current system.

A leading case in point in the area of expertise improvements in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to a recent report in the Hankyoreh’s military webzine Defence21, when a North Korean patrol boat ventured south over the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near Baengnyeong Island a few days after the Cheonan sinking last year, mixed in with a group of Chinese fishing boats, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sang-eui ordered an attack with live ammunition. The Second Fleet commander objected, citing the established operational regulations, and Kim Tae-young, who happened to be visiting the Joint Chiefs at the time, hurried to restrain the move, so that the Chinese boats were not fired upon, the report stated.

“This is far from the only time that the Army-centered Joint Chiefs of Staff have issued a bewildering order,” said a Navy official. “With the Gulf of Aden operation, it was announced as though the Joint Chiefs of Staff did it, but in reality it was the Navy that oversaw the operation. The mood over here is that we would be happy if the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Army) did not get it our way.”

A source familiar with the military situation said, “Since the change in administrations, even those figures in the Joint Chiefs of staff who had some understanding of Navy and Air Force operations have mostly been pushed out, and expertise there has diminished even further.”
  
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Text Fwd: Afghanistan: South Korean Base Comes Under New Rocket Attack

* Text fwd from Rick Rozoff on May 6, 2011

http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/05/05/rockets-fired-korean-prt-parwan
Pajhwok Afghan News
May 5, 2011
Rockets fired at Korean PRT in Parwan
by Farid Tanha

CHARIKAR: The Korean Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) headquarters came under rocket attack in the central province of Parwan, officials said on Thursday.

Several rockets, fired from an unknown direction, landed near the PRT headquarters, causing no casualties, crime branch chief, Mohammad Kabir Tordili, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The rockets were fired by people who were recently fired by the PRT, the official said, giving no further details.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the fighters attacked the PRT headquarters in Parwan. The building, housing about 200 Korean soldiers, was damaged, he said.
====================================================================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages

Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Text Fwd: 30% of Air Force bomb fuses may not work

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/05/205_86368.html
05-03-2011 18:11
30% of Air Force bomb fuses may not work

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Text Fwd: Vertical launching system for attack subs developed

A 1,800-ton Type-214 submarine of the South Korean Navy sails in waters off Busan. The diesel-electric sub was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany. After 2018 South Korea plans to build 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines equipped with vertical launching systems that allow a variety of weapons, including long-range cruise missiles, to be deployed. / Courtesy of ROK Navy

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/04/205_86282.html
Vertical launching system for attack subs developed
05-02-2011 17:38
By Jung Sung-ki

Korea has developed a vertical launching system (VLS) to be installed on 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines to be deployed after 2018, according to a shipbuilding industry source, Monday.

Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering are subcontractors for the heavy attack submarines.

It is the first time that the development of a submarine VLS in Korea has been confirmed. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has already developed one used aboard the 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyer.

A VLS is a modern type of missile-firing system used aboard submarines and surface vessels of several navies around the world. When installed on an attack submarine, a VLS allows a greater number and variety of weapons to be deployed in comparison to using only torpedo tubes.

Following the development of the VLS for subs, top shipbuilders in Korea and the ADD are also on track to develop an indigenous horizontal tube to launch torpedoes, cruise missiles and mines, the source said.

“The development of a vertical launching system has already been completed, while the development of a horizontal launching system is still under way,” the source told The Korea Times, asking not to be identified. “Developing the horizontal launching tube requires more sophisticated technology than the VLS development.”

The VLS would be used in launching long-range cruise missiles at key targets in North Korea.

The ADD has developed the 500-kilometer-range, ship-launched Cheonryong, which is a modified variant of the surface-to-surface Hyunmoo III-A ballistic missile. The missile range could be extended up to 1,000 kilometers, according to military sources.

The Cheonryong missiles are believed to have already been modified to be installed on Type-214 subs.

South Korea has successfully developed the Hyunmoo III-C surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers, following the deployment of the 1,000-kilometer-range Hyunmoo III-B.

With the VLS development, Korea would have an advantage in selling its submarines overseas in the future, the source added.

Currently, the South operates nine 1,200-ton, Type-209 submarines and three 1,800-ton, Type-214 submarines. They are all diesel- and electric-powered and were all built with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany.

As Germany restricts the transfer of key submarine technology, such as launching tubes, Korea would have difficulty exporting any of those locally-built submarines.

The Navy plans to deploy at least three more Type-214 submarines in the years to come.

Beginning in 2018, Seoul plans to build 3,000-ton KSS-III submarines fitted with domestically-built submarine combat systems aimed at automating target detection, tracking, threat assessment and weapons control.

The heavy attack sub will be armed with indigenous ship-to-ground cruise missiles and be capable of underwater operations for up to 50 days with an upgraded Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.

[단독] 중형 잠수함 수직발사대 개발 완료

정성기 기자

2018년 이후 건조되는 차기 중형 잠수함에 탑재될 국산 수직 발사대가 개발 완료 된 것으로 확인됐다.

KSS-III(장보고 3)라 불리는 3,000톤급 공격형 잠수함은 현재 현대중공업과 대우조선해양이 공동으로 설계하고 있다.

조선업계 관계자에 따르면 이미 국방과학연구소 주도로 잠수함 수직발사대는 개발이 완료됐고 수평발사대 역시 개발 중인 것으로 알려졌다.

이 관계자는 “수직 발사대는 이미 개발됐고 수평발사대는 좀 더 고난도의 기술이 요구되기 때문에 아직 완성하지는 못한 상태”라고 언급했다.

국방과학연구소는 이미 7,600톤 세종대왕함 급 이지스 구축함에 탑재되는 수상함 수직발사대는 개발을 마치고 전력화 한 상태다.

수직발사대는 잠수함과 수상함에 장착돼 어뢰를 포함한 다양한 무기체계를 발사하는 체계이다. 공격 잠수함에 탑재될 경우 장거리 순항 미사일 발사가 가능하다.

우리나라는 이미 현무 탄도 미사일을 개량한 사거리 500키로의 ‘천룡함대지 순항 미사일을 개발한 상태다. 군 소식통에 의하면 성능 개량이 될 경우 국산 중형잠수함에 사거리 1,000키로의 순항 미사일도 장착 가능하다.

국산 수직발사대 개발은 향후 잠수함 수출에도 희소식이 될 전망이다.

현재 한국 해구는 독일 HDW사로부터 기술이전 받아 건조한 1,200톤급 209잠수함과 1,800톤급 214잠수함을 운용 중이다.

하지만 수직발사대를 포함 핵심 무장체계는 기술이전을 받지 못해 수출시 걸림돌이 될 수도 있다는 우려가 컸다.

2018년 건조 시작될 3,000톤급 장수함은 국내 개발된 잠수함 전투체계가 탑재되고 천룡을 비롯한 국산 미사일이 탑재 예정이다. 최신형 AIP시스템을 탑재하고 최장 50일까지 수중 작전이 가능하다.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Photos Fwd: [SPARK]No Import of the US attack helicopter

http://www.spark946.org/bugsboard/index.php?BBS=s_news&action=viewForm&uid=2790&page=1
한반도 평화 위협, 대미 무기종속 심화, 국민 혈세 낭비!
대형 공격용 헬기 도입 사업 중단하라!
- 2011년 4월 29일 낮 12시, 방위사업청 앞 -
No Import of the US attack helicopter that threatens peace in the Korean Peninsula
In front of the Korea Defense Acquisition Administration Program
April 29, 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Text Fwd: [Editorial] On Defense Reform Plan 307: Keep an open mind on pending legislation and gather ideas again.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/475364.html
[Editorial] On Defense Reform Plan 307: Keep an open mind on pending legislation and gather ideas again.
Posted on : Apr.28,2011 13:16 KST

Controversy is raging over "Defense Reform Plan 307," which is set to change the upper command structure of the armed forces. The Navy and Air Force are objecting particularly strongly, expressing concerns about problems with the concentration of military authority and the diminishing of their own forces. One cannot help but worry that the government may end up harming military solidarity with its reckless pursuit of reorganization of the military system.

The gist of Plan 307 involves strengthening integrated military organization elements of the existing three-force system in order to transform the military into an operation-centered combat organization. To accomplish this, it would give both military command and military administration authority to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and have him preside over operations and personnel affairs for all of the forces through the individual Chiefs of Staff.

The integrated system and three-force system each have their own merits and demerits. However, the biggest problem with Plan 307 is that the legislation has been rushed. The Ministry of National Defense raced to give a presidential report without conducting any proper hearing. After some segments of the armed forces raised objections, an official from Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office in South Korea, threatened to "regard this as insubordination and strip them of their uniforms." This is a situation where the unrealistic elements should be filtered out after having been reviewed openly within and around the armed forces, yet things have essentially been handled in the opposite way from the beginning.

Another problem is the repeated use of stopgap measures to quiet objections. In a deviation from the original plan, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it would create two or three Deputy Chief of Staff positions and hand operational command to the First Deputy Chief of Staff, who would hold the rank of general. This gives an indication of their intent to give merely nominal authority to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position that circulates among the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and have real authority exercised by the First Deputy Chief of Staff, a position appointed by the Army. This is worse than outright creating a distorted organization in which the higher-ranked party is a figurehead and the lower-ranked party holds the real power.


After Air Force observers commented that it was ridiculous for the Air Force Chief of Staff, a general, to be under the wartime command of the U.S. 7th Air Force Commander, a lieutenant general, the response was to create the new position of the lieutenant general-level Deputy Chief of Staff and have this officer subject to the command of U.S. forces. Here we see a strained Procrustean attempt to cut the person down to the size of the bed. With the increase in deputy chiefs in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and different forces, the leadership has swollen further. One has to ask whatever happened to the plan of simplifying the upper command system and getting rid of the dead weight.


On the heels of a Cabinet vote on Plan 307, the Ministry of National Defense announced plans a few days ago to finish the legislative process at the June extraordinary session of the National Assembly. In so doing, it plans to complete the military system reorganizations before the end of the current administration. However, it is difficult to see the reorganization succeeding without sympathies within the armed forces, and there have also been concerns voiced by the National Assembly National Defense Committee. This is not a case where stubbornness will win the day. We hope the government will start over by gathering opinions on military system reorganization with an open mind.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Text Fwd: Military brawl reveals blacklist of ‘leftist officers’

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/474363.html
Military brawl reveals blacklist of ‘leftist officers’
The officers have allegedly been excluded from promotions for their affiliations with past administrations

By Lee Soon-hyuk

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Text Fwd: Bring War Dollars Home by Closing Down Bases

Bring War Dollars Home by Closing Down Bases
http://www.fpif.org/articles/bring_war_dollars_home_by_closing_down_bases
By Christine Ahn and Sukjong Hong
Foreign Policy in Focus
March 31, 2011

On the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. fighter planes took off to start yet another military action -- this time, in Libya. A recent Gallup poll found that only 47 percent of Americans approved of military action in Libya, the lowest level of support for military intervention in 40 years. At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama has sent Congress a budget that includes $1.2 trillion dollars for military and security expenditures. Clearly, Americans are weary of war, especially during an economic crisis that has threatened jobs, health plans, and pensions most families need to survive.

The hopeful news is that a grassroots movement of ordinary people across U.S. towns and cities has launched the New Priorities campaign, uniting under the demand to “bring the troops and war dollars home” by cutting defense spending instead of benefits, jobs, and basic government services. Worldwide actions are also being planned for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending on April 12th to shine a light on egregious amounts of military spending by the world’s governments. Central to these efforts must include demands to shut the 1,000-plus U.S. military bases in over 46 countries.

Bases are the most visible structures of the U.S. drive to maintain global military hegemony. Yet for most Americans, bases remain out of sight and outside the national discourse on war. Many don’t know about the enormous footprint of U.S. military installations around the world and how they undermine the lives and aspirations of the people who live directly in their shadow. Ending U.S. wars is essential, but closing down foreign bases is even more critical to dismantling U.S. militarism and global hegemony.

On the island of Cheju off the coast of South Korea, villagers are struggling to prevent the construction of a South Korean naval base intended for U.S. military use. In 2009, one of us traveled there and can still remember the tattered yellow flags lining the fence posts of homes, symbolizing the movement’s determination to stop the project. Walking along the endangered rocky coastline at the edge of this quiet village of farmers and fisherfolk, it was clear that Cheju Island and other sites of U.S. military bases in Korea have borne enormous costs to the people and to the future of peace in the region.

A Huge Financial Cost

Most figures used to estimate the cost of U.S. wars omit the global network of U.S. bases that provides vital resources and infrastructure to existing military conflicts. The Pentagon’s 2010 Base Structure Report, for example, lists 662 overseas bases but fails to include the 411 bases in Afghanistan, the 88 remaining bases in Iraq, or sites in Qatar and other countries where U.S. military personnel are stationed. Maintaining and constructing all U.S. bases cost American taxpayers $41.6 billion in 2010, according to Undersecretary of Defense Dorothy Robyn.

Of these 662 overseas bases, more than 70 military installations and bases and 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea. Ted Galen Carpenter and Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute estimate that the cost of U.S. bases in Korea “probably runs on the order of $15 to $20 billion annually.” Although the United States and South Korea have agreed to reduce and consolidate the number of U.S. military bases in Korea, other bases and training ranges — including Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek — are expanding displacing thousands of villagers and destroying Korea’s productive and limited farmland. ­

The agreements governing the responsibility for U.S. base relocation in Korea illustrate the unequal dynamic prevalent in countries that host U.S. bases. Under the Special Measures and Base Relocation Agreements, the United States and South Korea agreed to share the cost burden of moving U.S. bases, with South Korea obligated to pay more than half that cost. In 2008, South Korea paid $741.4 million, angering South Koreans unhappy over having to foot the majority of the moving bill and pay to clean up 60 years of environmental contamination. At some of the 23 bases ”returned” to South Korea, the levels of contamination are 100 times above the limit set by Korean law. Cleanup at these sites will require years of decontamination at enormous cost to South Korean citizens, not to mention the public health and ecological consequences for generations to come.

Moreover, U.S. bases and troop presence are an extension of U.S. intervention in South Korea. Historically, the U.S. military provided legitimacy, economic aid, and protection to dictatorial regimes that maintained their power with brute force. Today, the U.S. and South Korean governments control and suppress dissent through the infrastructure of bases, particularly Pyeongtaek and Osan, which are now major U.S. military intelligence outposts for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). While conducting research for his book Spies for Hire on the privatization of U.S. intelligence, Tim Shorrock found unsavory evidence of eavesdropping on Korean civilian activities by U.S. military bases located there. Although the primary target of surveillance activity is North Korea, U.S. intelligence also monitors China and Vietnam from Korean bases. What worries Shorrock is that since 9/11, what is considered a threat has widened to include almost any activity that questions or challenges U.S. interests. His discovery of the U.S. military in Korea colluding with Korean police to monitor anti-base activities is “an amazingly frank assessment that the anti-bases movement is being as closely monitored, and probably more so, than Al Qaeda - and basically puts the movement in the same camp as global terrorists." But it’s not just anti-base movements. Recently protests against the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement were also noted in the log of the U.S. forces in Korea.

Resistance to U.S. Military Bases in Korea

Given the fierce opposition to U.S. military bases throughout the Asia-Pacific rim, the United States has become savvy at reducing its military footprint in regions where its presence is politically contested. Rather than establish its own base, the U.S. military has sought the cover of the South Korean military in the construction of a new naval base in Cheju, an island located off the southern coast of South Korea.
The people of Cheju Island are known for their fierce resistance to Korea’s division and occupation by U.S. troops over the south during the post-World War II period. For their resistance, the people of Cheju paid dearly. Following the April 3 rebellion of 1948, South Korean government forces killed up to 30,000 people – more than one in ten residents –for opposing separate elections between the north and south and the U.S. occupation of the southern half of Korea. In a long-awaited gesture of apology, in 2005, former President Roh Moo-Hyun named Cheju the “Peace Island.”

Cheju Island is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national protected area by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration. The Joongduk coastline, adjacent to Gangjeong village, is home to rare sea life, including soft coral, and is the seasonal habitat for dolphins migrating across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska during the summer.

In 2002, Seoul announced plans to build a naval base on Cheju. After two villages resisted, Gangjeong Village became the government’s third target. In 2007, 94 percent of the Gangjeong Village People’s Council voted “no” to the base plans. The government then proceeded to pressure residents. Some 1,500 farmers and fishermen live in Gangjeong village, including the legendary Haenye pearl divers—women in their 50s and older who forage in the sea for their livelihoods. Some of the villagers, including a few elderly Haenye divers, sold their farmland to the military under pressure from the South Korean government. According to Sung-Hee Choi, a South Korean peace activist and blogger, many of the villagers who signed the contract now regret their decision. However, they’ve been told that if they renege, they would have to pay back the money plus interest. Still, dozens of families are resisting the naval base construction.

In May 2009, the South Korean government approved construction of the joint U.S.-South Korean naval base. The military has begun to dredge the Joongduk coastline to accommodate the massive naval warships. If construction proceeds, it will not only destroy the rare coral reefs and surrounding ecosystems, it will kill the area’s fishing industry and displace citrus growers in Gangjeong village whose lands will be confiscated as part of the base expansion.

Gangjeong villagers have filed several lawsuits without much success. On December 15, 2010, a Cheju court ruled that the naval base did not infringe on the rights of the villagers, despite the projected destruction of the tangerine groves and the soft coral habitat where the villagers fish. The Gangjeong villagers have used every possible democratic means to block the base construction, but the South Korean government has been completely unresponsive. On Christmas Day, some 500 supporters joined dozens of villagers to block the cement trucks brought in by the Navy to pour concrete over the coral reefs along the shoreline.

The Cheju facility is ostensibly a South Korean naval base, but for all intents and purposes it will be used by the U.S. military. This was confirmed when Americans made calls to the South Korean embassy urging them to close the base, to which the South Korean embassy responded, “Call your own government, which is pressuring us to build this base.” The villagers are currently occupying the site, stopping the construction cranes from dredging up the shoreline and facing off against riot police.

Not for Korean Security

When most Americans learn how U.S. military bases are infringing on the sovereignty and rights of the Korean people, most agree that it’s high time for troops to be withdrawn. But many ask, what about the threat of nuclear-armed North Korea — who will protect the Korean people?

Although the U.S. military has long stated that it maintains a presence in South Korea to protect the civilian population, South Koreans have experienced the impunity with which U.S. troops behave on their territory. Organizations have documented thousands of crimes committed by soldiers against South Koreans. Between 1988 and 1996, U.S. troops committed an average of two crimes per day, ranging from the mundane to the heinous. The frequency of crimes committed by U.S. military personnel demonstrates the impunity with which U.S. forces act in South Korea — and likely, in many other host countries in which Status of Forces Agreements clearly give the U.S. military the upper hand. Furthermore, contrary to most fear-mongering projections of a nuclear-North Korea, “Most economic and military indicators show that South Korea has an edge over North Korea in almost all measures of power,” writes Jae-Jung Suh.
But perhaps more relevant today than the U.S.-South Korean military alliance is the grander regional alliance the United States has been forming in response to the perception of a growing Chinese military and economic threat. A key indicator of this is how the Mutual Defense alliance of the U.S. and South Korea has been transformed. Under the 2009 “Strategic Flexibility” agreement signed by Presidents Obama and Lee, the defense of South Korea is returned to Seoul, allowing the United States to deploy its forces outside Korea. Under the new arrangement, not only will South Korea be used as a rapid deployment hub for US military objectives elsewhere, South Korean troops will also be deployed for U.S.-led military deployments beyond Korean borders.
The realignment and consolidation of U.S. bases is also revealing. Many of the larger U.S. bases are along Korea’s West Coast and have moved away from the Demilitarized Zone toward more southern locations. This network of bases is part of a new missile defense shield directed as much toward China as toward North Korea. In the region as a whole, U.S. base expansions are taking place in Japan, Okinawa, Guam, Australia, and other key locations in the Asia-Pacific theatre, which effectively form a belt of bases that encircle China and Russia. The United States, South Korea and Japan have strengthened their tri-lateral alliance, which has resulted in more intense and frequent joint war games among all three nations, including the recent Key Resolve Foal Eagle ROK-U.S. joint military exercises involving 13,000 US troops and a nuclear aircraft carrier,

In a 2007 interview, former U.S. Forces in Korea Commander General B.B. Bell explained why South Korea was so vital to the United States by saying, “Twenty-five percent of the world’s trade flows through northeast Asia. Whether it’s Korea, Japan, or China, if you’re trading in the world, one out of every four things you trade, commodity-wise and dollar-wise, is going through that area.” Korea itself is the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner. Bell further explained the need for U.S. military engagement in Northeast Asia “because of the natural resources, lines of communication, and products that we will have to deliver around the world.”

But there’s more than cargo protection driving U.S. base strategy — U.S. bases are there to encircle China. Of all U.S. military bases, South Korea is the closest spot to Beijing, a strategic location to gather intelligence, and a key point for a possible standoff with China. The Project for the New American Century clearly states this: “Raising U.S. military strength in East Asia is the key to coping with the rise of China to great-power status.”

This broader regional strategy also explains U.S. pressure on South Korea to build a naval base in Cheju. Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space explains why villages in Cheju are being destroyed to accommodate the expansion of the U.S. military base: “China imports 80 percent of its oil on ships and a Navy base on Cheju would help give the U.S. ability to ‘control’ this vital shipping lane in the Yellow Sea. While the declining U.S. economy can’t compete with China anymore, the Pentagon is embarking on a strategy that says if we can control access to declining supplies of oil then we will still hold the keys to the global economic engine.” This year, China surpassed the United States in energy consumption. As Michael Klare puts it, “China’s decisions on energy preferences will largely determine whether China and the United States can avoid becoming embroiled in a global struggle over imported oil and whether the world will escape catastrophic climate change.”

With bases encircling China, the U.S. military has the capacity to stave off a growing Chinese presence and control its growing demand for energy. South Koreans know this reality well. In a recent visit to Pyeongtaek, when Bruce Gagnon asked the Pyongtaek Peace Center, an organization based in South Korea, to whom the United States was directing its aggression, Center representatives replied, “Russia and China. Russia has large supplies of natural gas. It’s about energy wars.”

Close Down U.S. Bases and Cut Military Spending

As grassroots efforts are made in the U.S. to shift funding from the military budget to our communities, we must remember the active struggles of groups overseas that are directly resisting the footprint of U.S. military bases. Whether in Okinawa, Guam, or Korea, residents are on a daily basis fighting to stop the construction or expansion of U.S. military bases. Not only are the massive joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises diverting critically needed public dollars in both countries, they are moving the two Koreas further away from the promise of reconciliation and reunification. U.S. bases in Korea are no longer needed. The real issue is how these bases are serving to keep tensions high on the Korean peninsula and in the region as a whole.

Rather than accept the unending stalemate that continually threatens to erupt into war, in the United States, a broad movement is calling for the end of the Korean War, in solidarity with groups in South Korea that have long campaigned for the same demand. The signing of a peace treaty is the first step to demilitarizing not just the Korean peninsula, but also the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, and paving the way for a self-determined reunification of the two Koreas.

Bringing the war dollars home refers not just to active, hot-wars but also to the network of bases that makes war and U.S. empire-building possible and thwarts democratic advancement and the development of more just, equitable societies.
Perhaps few can express the importance of this struggle better than those who have defended their rights to land and life against US military interests. From 2004 to 2007, for nearly 1000 days, villagers in Pyongtaek, South Korea held candlelight vigils to stop the expansion of the US military base, Camp Humphreys. When asked by the South Korean Defense Ministry for the price for his land, Pyongtaek village leader Kim Ji Tae replied, "The price will be unimaginably high. The price must include every grain of rice grown and harvested here. It must include all of our efforts to grow them, as well as our whole life here, including our sighs, tears, and laughter. The price must include the stars, which have witnessed our grief and joy, and the wind, which has dried our tears. If all of these could be added, I would tell you the price."

We must call for the defunding of U.S. bases and war games, and join this global people’s struggle for peace and sovereignty.

Christine Ahn is the executive director of the Korea Policy Institute and a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus. Sukjong Hong is a member of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)


Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Text Fwd: Abandon Outdated Logic to Achieve Urgently Needed National Defense Reform



Defense Minister Kim Gwan-jin gives an explanation on tasks for national defense reform at the Ministry of National Defense on March 8, 2011. Although there arose some objections from mostly reservists, defense reform is a task urgently demanded by the times we live in.

It has been put off for at least 20 years, and if Koreans fail to do it now, Korea's military simply cannot be renewed, analysts pointed out. The Ministry of National Defense must expand support for defense reform among the actively serving military and also respond resolutely to those who oppose reform out of self-serving purposes.
File photo by the Kyunghyang Daily News
Caption by Seol Wontai, Editor of the Online English Edition
_____________________________________________

Kyunghyang Shinmun Editorial
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201103301453417&code=790101
Abandon Outdated Logic to Achieve Urgently Needed National Defense ReformMarch 30, 2011


Strong objections are being raised in and outside the military as the passing of the national defense reform bill approaches. Objections from those in active service, most of all from reservists, are of a sufficient level that Cheongwadae (the office of the president) yesterday warned of personnel replacements.

In a situation where national security has entered a critical phase, the impeding of defense reform by those in active service must be regarded as a form of "disobeying of orders" that is hard to condone.

There are two main objections to the so-called "Defense Reform Plan 307," which was decided upon by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) early this month.

The first is that if the plan grants some powers regarding personnel appointment and military supplies to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this will lead to a concentration of power within the military and contravene the principle of civilian control of it.

This is a logic that has been advocated by the navy and air force since 1988, when the government of President Roh Tae-woo came up with the "long-term national defense preparation development forecast" (the "8.18 Plan"), which essentially pushed for a unified military.

Given that at that time the dark shadow of military coup still lingered, there was some reason behind this logic. Another criticism is that it is inappropriate to reorganize the command structure in the higher echelons of the military at a time when big changes to the security environment on the Korean Peninsula are in progress, including the predicted transfer of power in North Korea next year.

Such criticisms, however, avoid the problems with our military that were revealed by the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island incidents. The military showed a lack of coordination, even appearing flustered, both in terms of gathering and processing intelligence before the events, and in terms of reporting and responding afterwards.

The MND has come up with "Plan 307" in order to remedy these problems. Questioning the appropriateness of its timing is, itself, inappropriate.

Given this, it would seem valid to regard objections to defense reform as related to the possibility of tyranny on the part of the army among military services, and to the plan to reduce the number of generals.

If a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with an army background is also the head of a unified military headquarters, this could lead to a relative weakening of the navy and air force. And it is a fact that being promoted will become harder for officers if the number of generals drops from 440 to 380 by 2020.

The military's dissatisfaction is understandable. The problem is that, from the point of view of the ordinary Korean people, the military's objections appear to be made out of self-interest. The military must be aware of this.

Defense reform is a task demanded by the times we live in. It has been put off for at least 20 years, and if we fail to do it now, Korea's military simply cannot be renewed. The MND, while continuously increasing support for defense reform among the actively serving military, must respond resolutely to those who reject reform.

It goes without saying that the full support of Cheongwadae is needed here. Reservist groups such as the "Seonguhoe," association of generals, and other groups must also break free from their outdated logic, look at defense reform from a national perspective, and support it. (Editorial, The Kyunghyang Daily News. March 30, 2011)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

[MND News Catch up] South Korean third Aegis Destroyer/ Korea and U.S. perform the first joint logistics drill

* Check the links

Photo News, Ministry of National Defense, ROK

Third South Korean Aegis was built

Recent News, Ministry of National Defense, ROK (Uploaded on March 28, 2011)

New protection system for K-2 to be developed this year South Korea unveils

White Paper on Cheonan

Korea and U.S. perform the first joint logistics drill

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Text Fwd: Aftermath of Libya bombardment by West; The Korean government won't welcome the attacks, Korean firms hesitant to leave Libya


Emergency ejection for the pilot whose plane was hit. A pilot was ejected from the plane which was hit by the anti-air fires during the West's attacks on Libya's pro-Gadhafi forces. Although the international community embarked on attacks against Libya, the Korean government will not issue any welcoming statement in favor of the attacks. (Photo by AP, Yonhap News from Benghazi, Libya.)

Kyunghyang Shinmun
Aftermath of Libya bombardment by West; The Korean government won't welcome the attacks, Korean firms hesitant to leave Libya
Posted on : 2011-03-21 17:01

As the Western multinational forces launced an attack on Libya, the issue of evacuating Korean residents in Libya has loomed as an urgent problem.

Some analysts say that the Korean government has now confronted an awkward situation, given that it has ridden a tight rope between the voices of the international community and the government of Gadhafi.

The Korean government had a meeting between relevant ministries and determined to continue advising the 118 remaining Korean workers such as employees at construction companies and self-employed people to leave Libya.

Also, it prepared for a contingent situation by mooring the Choi Young of the Chunghae Unit to the north of the Suez Canal, which was on her way back to the Gulf of Aden after having completed the mission of evacuating Korean residents.

An official at the Foreign Ministry said "The government is now recommending the whole of remaining 118 Korean residents to evacuate, but the construction companies insist on stationing their workers still there by arguing that previously they had protected their interests by remaining to the last."

However, given that the attacks launched by the Western countries are in part purported to intensify sanctions on Muammar Gadhafi's government, business prospects for Korean firms have also become unclear.

The Korean government does not plan to issue any welcoming statement in connection with the UN resolution No. 1973, which includes establishment of no-fly zones, freezing of assets, and arms embargo.

An unnamed Foreign Ministry official said, "Considering that the attacks launched this time are a limited battle, excluding sending in of ground troops and that the US des not stand in the vanguard, the US will not request Korean soldiers' participation in their military action."

As the international community embarked on a punishment of the Gadhafi regime, National Assemblyman Lee Sang-deug has fallen into an awkward situation, who led the so-called 'shuttle Libya diplomacy' last year to alleviate the coarsened bilateral relations.

Rewritten by Seol Wontai, Editor of Online English Edition

(Political News. The Kyunghyang Daily News, March 21, 2011. p. 2,)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Text Fwd: Shameful national security education videos

Hankyoreh Editorial
Shameful national security education videos
March 12, 2011

The Lee Myung-bak administration has been making and distributing national security education videos contending that those who questioned the findings of the investigation in the sinking of the Cheonan were responsible for North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island. In addition to the patently absurd argument, the fact that the video stars film actor Lee Jun-ki, who is currently performing his mandatory military service, is adding to the controversy.

The 18-minute “Government-standard National Security Video for Young People” was produced by the Defense Media Agency and circulated to kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools around the country beginning on Mar. 7. The video introduces Lee while citing “dividing the South Korean people” as one of the reasons for the North Korean artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. Wearing a black beret and introduced as “national security teacher for a day,” Lee opens by saying, “All South Koreans must properly understand the national security situation and respond with a single mind and a single will.”

A cartoon character with the voice of a young boy goes on to bring up the controversy surrounding the government's announcement of the Cheonan investigation findings. “People who do not even believe something brought to light through the participation of authorities from the different advanced nations caused divisions among the South Korean people,” the voice says. “If, instead of fighting in that way, our people had put their power together to prepare thoroughly, maybe we could have prevented the Yeonpyeong Island provocation.”

After this, Lee Jun-ki delivers the final remarks, with a skillful overlap between the controversial content and his image. This video betrays a one-sided understanding of the situation centering on the government’s position. The debate over the government’s Cheonan findings raged fiercely everywhere from the United Nations Security Council to the South Korean National Assembly. Nor can it be said that it has yet been resolved. Moreover, it is utterly baseless to make the leap of attributing North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island to the debate over the Cheonan’s sinking in South Korean society. Infusing this kind of information into young minds is not only not educational, but it contributes nothing to strengthening our national security posture either.

Also problematic is the fact that military authorities made free use of the image of an entertainer who has joined the military. One wonders about Lee Jun-ki’s own thoughts, under freer conditions, over the Cheonan debate that is pitting government and certain quarters of civil society against each other. He supported the candlelight vigil demonstrations in 2008, and he put up memorial posts on his mini-home page after the deaths of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Internet users have called him an “entertainer with a clue.”

If he was enlisted for a public relations video irrespective of his free will, this could be termed image exploitation that runs counter to human rights. No one has the right to take advantage of the weakness of a soldier unable to refuse orders and to force him to engage in PR activities that go against his image and convictions.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Text Fwd: Seoul to bolster preemptive strike capability

* Image source: Kyunghyang Shinmun
The Global Hawk first deployed in actual combat in Afghan War in 2001 (File photo)
_____________________________________________
Korea Times
Seoul to bolster preemptive strike capability
By Lee Tae-hoon
March 11, 2011

Seoul is seeking a paradigm shift in its defense posture senior military officials said Friday, moving toward beefing up its preemptive strike capability against North Korea by deploying high-tech weapons that could be used to take out its leadership.

“Following North Korea’s two attacks last year, we’ve come to the conclusion that the belligerent behavior of Pyongyang will only end when its leadership realizes that Seoul is capable of conducting surgical strikes or covert operations against them,” a top official said, asking for anonymity.

He said altering the country’s military focus from passive defense to proactive deterrence is one of the three main pillars of the “Defense Reform Plan 307” unveiled by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, Tuesday.

Kim stressed in a press briefing that he would adopt an active defense policy, while seeking to enhance interoperability of the armed forces and streamlining the military command structure.

“I’ll adjust priorities on the country’s military buildup to deal with the North’s asymmetrical threats and a possible local war,” the defense chief said, adding that Seoul will speed up the purchase of high-altitude spy drones and stealth fighters.

Seoul has already asked Washington to sell its Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle capable of flying at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet and monitoring enemy locations on the entire Korean Peninsula with pinpoint accuracy.

As part of the FX-III acquisition program, it is also accelerating a stalled plan to replace its aging F-4 and F-5 fighters with combat aircraft with stealth features from 2016.

“The great strength of stealth fighters is that they are capable of infiltrating deep into North Korea and return home after undertaking surprise air raids at anytime, anywhere with high precision without being detected or leaving behind any trace evidence,” a senior Air Force official said.

“Given that stealth fighters are practically invisible, the North will face difficulties in figuring out how often stealth fighters were flying over their land or whether they would conduct an air raid.”
He said Kim wanted to deliver a clear message to the North that should it undertake further attacks against South Korea, Seoul may topple the communist regime by mounting precision attacks on its leadership.

However, the official ruled out the possibility of a preemptive attack on the North, claiming that Seoul is acutely aware that such an action would draw international condemnation and would significantly isolate the country from the rest of the world.

There have been growing calls to beef up military readiness against imminent threats from the North, including possible missile attacks, after Seoul “failed” to properly retaliate against Pyongyang’s two deadly attacks last year.

The North unleashed an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea in November, claiming the lives of four people, but the South Korean military failed to locate the exact weapons responsible in time for an effective counterattack.

Last March, a North Korea submarine managed to dodge the South Korean Navy after sinking the frigate Cheonan in the West Sea that killed 46 of the sailors onboard.

한국, 대북 선제타격 능력강화 추진

한국이 북한정권의 심장부를 도려낼 수 있는 최첨단 선제공격 무기 도입을 국방정책 패러다임 전환의 일환으로 추진하고 있다고 국방부 관계자가 11일 말했다.

익명을 요구한 한 고위 관계자는 "국방개혁 307 계획"의 핵심은 방어 중심에서 '선제(preemptive) 공격’을 포함한 적극적 억제전략으로의 전환이라고 말했다.

그는 스텔스 전투기 등을 도입 남한이 원하면 언제든지 평양으로 몰래 침투 김정일을 단번에 제압할 수 있는 능력이 있다는 공포심을 심어 줄 수 있을 정도의 군사력을 갖추어야 앞으로 북의 군사도발이 사라질 거라는 결론을 지난 해 천안함 침몰과 연평도 포격 이 후 내릴 수 있었다고 주장했다.

김관진 장관은 지난 8일 "국방개혁 307 계획"을 발표하며 3군 합동성 강화, 국방운영 효율성 극대화와 더불어 “적극적 대북 억제능력” 강화를 세 가지 중점 분야로 두고 개혁을 추진해 나아가겠다고 밝힌 바 있다.

김장관은 또한 북한의 국지도발과 비대칭 위협에 대비하기 위해 고고도 무인정찰기와 스텔스기를 조기 도입 하는 등 전력증강의 우선순위도 일부 조정하기로 했다 말한 바 있다.

________________________________________

See also Kyunghyang Shinmun
The Korean Military to Import the 'Global Hawk' and Stealth Fighters Earlier; Likely Influenced by US Government and Industry
Posted on : 2011-03-09 17:09

The military authorities have decided to import unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance planes such as the Global Hawk and the Stealth fighters at an earliest date.

These projects were stopped at the early stage of the Lee Myung-bak government, but were determined to be pursued afterwards, thus raising suspicions that these were influenced by the US lobbyists.

The National Defense Ministry announced 'National Defense Reform Plan 307' on Tuesday, Mar 08, 2011, while saying and that "it will pursue to secure state-of-the-art precision combat capability at an earlier date in order to respond to asymmetrical threats by the enemy.'

It was learned that the government determined to put into combat forces for 2015-2016 the Global Hawk reconnaissance planes and the Stealth fighters

However, voices are mounting that the reasons why the military excluded the unmanned Global Observer are unclear, which are competitors for the Global Hawk, in the course of putting high-altitude the unmanned reconnaissance planes into combat forces.

According to defense industry sources, the Global Hawk can stay in the air of 65,000 feet of altitude in the operational radius of 3000-4000 km for a duration of 38-42 hours, whereas the Global Observer can stay in the same altitude for over one week.

To compare the prices, the Global Hawk costs US$ 45,000,000 per plane and is more expensive than the Global Observer, and the expenditure for management and maintenance for the former is heavier than the latter, which uses hydrogen as fuel.

At first, the Joint Chiefs of the Staff proceeded with the importation of the Global Observer instead of the Global Hawk, but an official related to the Chong Wa Dae opposed the plan, citing that introduction of unverified weapons is inappropriate, it was learned.

In this context, analysts in and out of the military raise the possibility of lobbying activity by the Northrop Grumman which is the producer of the Global Hawk.

Previously, in 2008, the Korean military pushed for a plan to purchase four Global Hawks by 2010 but failed because of the opposition from the Chong Wa Dae's argument that the prices are too heavy.

In the meantime, the Ministry of National Defense decided to hasten the third FX project of introducing additional 60 Stealth-grade fighters, which requires a budget size of 9 trillion won.

The ROK Air Force argued for the necessity of the third FX project from 2007 onwards, but the project did not move forward with no budget allocated.

The talk about the third FX project became livelier with the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' visit to Korea in January. However, it is pointed out that if Koreans hasten the project, then it is likely that Koreans will have to buy the Stealth F35 at a higher price.

All the more, it was known that the F35's that the US proposed to Koreans for importation are the initial products that even the US Air Force refused to buy.

Given that the targeted level for the software version for the F35's is 3.0, if Koreans purchased the initial products of the F35's that are equipped with only 0.5 version, upgrading of the software version will require an astronomical cost.

Translated by Seol Wontai, Editor of Online English Edition

Friday, March 11, 2011

Photos Fwd: [SPARK] Stop the distribution of anti-NK leaflets/ Abolish the defense reform 307 plan!

* Click the links for more photos

Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea, March 10, 2011
평화와 통일을 여는 사람들, 2011년 3월 10일(클릭)
남북 군사적 충돌 부르고 주민생존 위협하는 대북전단 살포를 중단하라!
- 2011년 3월 10일 낮 12시, 임진각 망배단 앞 -

Stop the distribution of anti-NK leaflets that brings inter-Korean military clashes and threatens the residents' right to live!

-12pm, March 10, 2011, Imjingak, Paju-

Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea, March 9, 2011평화와 통일을 여는 사람들, 2011년 3월 9일(클릭)
이른바 ‘307 계획’은 국방개혁안이 아니라 국방개악안이다.
역대 최대의 국방개악안인 ‘307 계획’을 즉각 폐기하라!
2011년 3월 9일(수) 오전 11시 30분, 국방부(합참) 정문 앞

So called '307plan' is not the defense reform plan but a change for the worse of defense! Immediately abolish the '307 plan, 'the worst change for the worse defense in the history!

-11: 30am, March 9, 2011 In front of the Ministry of National Defense-

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Text Fwd: South Korean Base Targeted In Afghanistan

* Text fwd from Rick Rozoff on March 7, 2011

Trend News Agency
March 6, 2011
S. Korean base targeted in Afghanistan

South Korea's provincial reconstruction team base in northern Afghanistan has been targeted by militants' rockets, the foreign ministry and Afghanistan's local police say, Press TV reported.

According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, two rocket-propelled grenades fell near the base of South Korean aid workers at 1:44 a.m. Friday (Korean time) in the northern Afghan city of Charika.

Local police say no casualties were reported, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said the rockets had hit the facility.

The site had come under two more similar attacks in the past, one in June last year and the other in January, though none were hurt in the attacks.

In 2007 Taliban militants had taken hostage 23 South Korean nationals and killed two of them but set the others free after an agreement with the South Korean government to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
=======================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages

Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com

Friday, March 4, 2011

[Korea MND News Catch up] Military unveils plan to foster reserve snipers/ Ministry introduce major policies /Joint maritime maneuver

Ministry of National Defense, ROK, Recent News
No. 722
Military unveils plan to foster reserve snipers
Feb. 25, 2011 (Uploaded on March 4, 2011)

The Ministry of National Defense unveiled its revised training program for this year on Feb. 24 aimed at fostering combat-oriented reserve forces.

In particular, the ministry is planning to create some 30,000 reserve snipers.
"During past few years, the military has been running a program to develop reserve snipers in some reserve forces unit," said a defense official in the ministry. "But we decided to operate the plan in all reserve forces units in the country to make preparations for North Korea's special operations capabilities reinforcement and future street battles."

The official added that the military is going to foster two reserve snipers in each platoon.

Would-be snipers will receive training concentrating on rifle shooting and have telescope sight installed on their rifles if budget is secured, said the official.
In addition, this year's first reserve forces training program scheduled for Mar. 2 will be run in combat-oriented style.

So far reservists in their fifth and sixth year of reserve training since their discharge from active-duty service have taken training programs for three days by commuting from home to assigned units. As a test case, however, five army divisions will be running overnight training program.

In line with a new reserve force training plan, two reserve battalions will join in the ROK-U.S. annual joint military exercises Key Resolve/Foal Eagle and the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, according to the new plan.

Also local reserves training is going to be operated aimed at strengthening actual warfare capabilities to support the new plan. Trainees will be trained using tools for survival games and get training programs in many different fields.

The new reserve training plan said that in order to strengthen morale training, military or security experts will give one-hour lectures related to improving awareness of security enemies.
______________________________
No. 721

Ministry introduce major policies after three years of Lee
Feb. 23, 2011 (Uploaded on March 4, 2011)



Ahead of marking the third year of Lee Myung-bak administration on March 25, the ministry made public its major achievements and tasks by dividing into five categories.


President Lee Myung-bak inspects the 21st Division of the Army on Dec. 23 last year. The Defense Ministry vowed to reform itself by becoming advanced military and the military that gain trust from the public.

Those categories are as follows: assessing current military combat capabilities and strengthening preparedness posture, thorough mental armament and boosting fighting spirit, improving efficiency of policy management, establishing advanced military competence and reinforcing ROK-U.S. strategic alliance and military diplomacy.

As part of reinforcing joint military operation of Army, Navy and Air Force, the ministry of National Defense is scheduled to finalize a plan aimed at running joint training programs for freshmen of the Military, Naval and Air Force academies by November this year.

The ministry is also planning to fortify west coast islands by 2015 to protect soldiers and residents on islands.

A new school for developing joint commanding skills for officers will be established on Jan. 1 next year as well, the ministry said.

As an initial step to strengthen preparedness posture on west coast islands, the ministry is planning to fortify major military facilities by 2012. By 2015 all facilities will be fortified.

In order to prepare for changed aspects of enemy's threat, specific combat operations are going to be revised with the Marine Corps headquarters in the lead.

To prepare for possible North Korea's third nuclear test and missile test, the ministry is going to operate joint crisis management system and create countermeasures in cooperation with the United States.

In particular, the ministry will set up safety zones in case of emergencies in order to minimize damages of people and secure operation efficiency.

Also the ministry is planning to beef up military welfare system, ease regulations of military facilities protective zones, reshuffle military organizational structure, reinforce stand-by military power and strengthen ROK-U.S. alliance.
__________________________________
No. 720

Joint maritime maneuver successfully accomplishedt maritime maneuver successfully accomplished
Feb. 22, 2011 (Uploaded on March 4, 2011)

The First Fleet of Korean Navy led the three-day joint maritime maneuver along with Army, Air Force and coast guard to a success and took advantage of the occasion to strengthen joint operational capabilities. The exercise began on Feb. 18.


A 1,800-ton frigate Busan under the First Fleet of Korean Navy fires cannon toward simulated target during a joint maritime maneuver of Navy, Army, Air Force and coast guard.

During the maneuver, which took place on the East Sea, the fleet mobilized 12 battle ships, including a 1,800-ton frigate Busan and a 1,200-ton Patrol Combat Corvette, as well as a P-3C anti-submarine and surveillance aircraft and a Lynx helicopter.
Army soldiers of 23rd Division, Air Force aircrafts and two coast guards ships join the exercise to boost joint combat capabilities.

The exercise began with battleships making shipment and aircrafts taking off during a simulated situation of enemy's fighter flying toward Korea's harbor. Then drills aimed at securing the harbor, firing potential enemy submarines and fighters, and countering enemy's intrusion from the Northern Maritime Line (NLL), a de facto maritime border.

Joint forces, in particular, heightened the level of drill related to regional warfare near the NLL. Navy's speed boat played a role of enemy's boat and simulated as it sailed toward the South by crossing the NLL. Navy's patrol ship and a speed boat near the NLL sailed toward the enemy right away. With a support of Army's coastal artilleries and Air Force's attack, simulated enemy's speed boat was completely contained and attacked.

In addition, joint forces implemented an exercise of tracking and destroying enemy submarines as well as night drill to reinforce combat capabilities. In particular, on the second day of the maneuver, actual ruined fishing boat played a role of target during anti-submarine firing drill.

"No matter what enemy's provocation might be, our navy is fully prepared to counteract immediately," said Lt. Lim Sang-su who was in charge of operational control in the maneuver. "We will keep on maintaining perfect counteract capabilities based on actual maritime exercises."