The Republic of Korea Approaches the Future

Abstract

The Republic of Korea (ROK) has embarked on a journey that could transform its military in the next ten to twenty years. As a key U.S. ally, its force structure, along with underlying assumptions and doctrine, will have great impact on alliance maintenance, interoperability, and operations. If Washington desires a long-term coalition relationship with Seoul, especially in a post-unification timeframe, knowing the direction of the development of Korean forces can enable a considered decision on whether and to what degree it should be part of the process. This article discusses where Korea is taking its military. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) initiated an institutionalized reform by creating the National Defense Reform Committee (NDRC) in April 1998. The committee reports directly to the defense minister and has a five-year charter (1998-2003) covering nearly every aspect of the defense establishment and structure from barracks culture to strategic concepts, from acquisition to force structure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA524795

Entities

People

  • Jiyul Kim
  • Michael J. Finnegan

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Force Structure
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • North Korea
  • Personnel Management
  • Rear Areas
  • Republic
  • Security
  • Transport Ships
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.