[Seoul 11th Reuters]-South Korea and North Korea have been spending a lot of money on military modernization, contrary to aggressive dialogue since 2018. Now that the dialogue has been interrupted, this has created tension between the two countries.
As North Korea recently launched a short-range missile, the arms expansion by both countries attracted attention. North Korea explains that the missile launch has completed the necessary weapons to defend against new Korean weapons.
North Korea's state-run media reported that Kim Jong-un, the Korean Labor Party chairman, visited a test shot of the “very large rocket gun” on the 10th. According to analysts, this is a weapon that threatens the Korean army.
North Korea is harshly criticizing the US-Korea joint military exercises and the defense procurement of South Korean aircraft carriers, stealth fighters, reconnaissance satellites, etc., as they are ready for an overwhelming first-off attack.
North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) argued in a 6th article that South Korea's construction of a new weapon system threatened the peace of the Korean peninsula.
I asked the Korean Ministry of Defense for a comment, but I couldn't get a response.
Korea ’s defense budget is already one of the largest in the world, but the Bunjeong administration has invested billions of dollars.
According to the Department of Defense, military spending in 2018 was $ 43.1 billion, an increase of 7% year-on-year, the largest increase since 2009, an increase of 8.7%.
The Ministry of Defense announced in July this year that it will build Korea's first light aircraft carrier. In August, it announced a plan to invest about 239 billion dollars from 20 to 24 years. Of this, about $ 85 billion is weapons improvement costs, an average of 10.3%.
The Ministry of Defense explained, “Considering the recent uncertain security environment, the government will invest heavily in strengthening defense capabilities.”
According to the 18 Korean defense white paper, the budget for “armament reinforcement” by 23 will account for more than 36% of total defense spending, and is expected to expand from about 31% this year.
The planned aircraft carrier will be equipped with the latest stealth fighter F35B capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
The list of defense equipment that South Korea is planning to purchase includes a new missile defense system, more than three destroyers equipped with the latest Aegis system, reconnaissance satellites and high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters , Anti-submarine patrol aircraft, submarines capable of launching cruise and ballistic missiles, and warships with guided missiles.
“Don't want a full-fledged confrontation with the North and South, but both want a safe weapon platform and defense resources,” said Daniel Depetris of Defense Priority, Washington's think tank.
<Expensive arms expansion competition>
The urgent concern for North Korea is that South Korea delivered 40 state-of-the-art stealth fighters, F35A, from the United States for the first time this year.
North Korea criticized the weapons procurement plan, including the F35A, because it was an unequivocally strengthened armament and was forced to develop a new short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) in order to “completely destroy” new threats. ing.
“With North Korea ’s air defense and missile defense system (because of F35) is extremely vulnerable, that ’s why North Korea is countering the acceleration of SRBM development,” Depetris said.
North Korea also believes that Korea's F35 deployment violates the agreement on mitigation of military tensions signed by North and South Korea in September 2006. Both countries agreed at this time to stop all “hostile acts”, but the agreement does not mention new weapons.
According to analysts, North Korea is under severe international sanctions and cannot respond to arms races.
In the last 16 years that can be estimated, North Korea spent $ 4 billion in defense spending, equivalent to 23% of GDP. According to the US State Department's 2018 report, about 5% of North Koreans are engaged in military missions.
<Changes in US relations>
The rapid increase in defense spending in South Korea seems to contradict the president ’s North-South fusion route. But according to analysts, the main motivation is in other issues. Changes in demographics and relations with the long-time alliance of the United States.
Since the Korean War of 1950-53, the US military has held the wartime operational control (OPCON) between the Korean army and the US military in Korea. According to Mr. Kathryn Botto, analyst of the International Peace Carnegie Fund (Washington), President Wun has made OPCON's transfer to the Korean army the main goal of the administration, and armament build-up plays an important role in gaining US approval Bear.
Korea is also aging and the number of young people who can engage in the military is also decreasing. According to the Defense White Paper, the country is planning to reduce the number of troops from the current 599,000 to 500,000 by 2025, aiming to be “small in size and strong in combat”.
According to Mr. Botto, the Trump administration has urged South Korea to increase the purchase of US-made weapons and increase the cost burden on US forces in South Korea. “Increasing investment in weapons that can be purchased from the United States will help Mr. Trump on his side, as well as supporting the objectives of OPCON transfer and defense reform,” he said.
However, according to analysts, South Korea also wants to reduce its dependence on the United States. Part of that is the dissatisfaction that the US sometimes reluctantly shares state-of-the-art technology.
According to Western defense officials residing in Seoul, President Wang wants to strengthen his military capabilities as much as possible before the economic downturn makes military spending difficult.
“Korea is on the way to the world's largest military R & D spending country as a percentage of its budget. It ’s trying to build a bigger position than ever on the international stage,” said a senior official. talked.
(Josh Smith reporter)
