SEOUL - South Korea is considering increasing the number of its Marines by up to 2,000 as part of broader efforts to enhance defense capability for five islands near the disputed sea border with North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense said Feb. 8.
An extra 2,000, if approved, would take the size of the South Korean Marine Corps to 29,000.
The new troops would be assigned to a coastal defense command for the islands near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a major flashpoint for inter-Korean conflict. The division-level command, with a combined strength of some 12,000 from all wings of the military, will be inaugurated as early as April.
Following a torpedo attack on a South Korean patrol ship that killed 46 sailors in March last year, the North fired hundreds of shells from its coastal artillery guns toward one of the five islands in November, Yeonpyeong, killing four people.
"In the aftermath of the Yeonpyeong Island attack, consensus has been built among government and military officials to augment troops, in particular Marines, on the West Sea islands to help facilitate amphibious operations against North Korean forces in the case of an emergency," a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said. "The final size and assignment of troops are to be fixed after further discussions."
The augmentation of Marines near North Korean waters implicate a major shift in Seoul's operational concepts on the border islands from a deterrence against a North Korean landing assault to an offensive one that could allow a preemptive strike on the North should it launch an attack, defense experts said.
Since the Yeonpyeong Island attack, South Korea has bolstered its forces and military arsenal off the west coast.
The South Korean military boosted the numbers of the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, the 130mm multiple rocket launchers on Yeonpyeong, located just 12 kilometers from the North Korean mainland. It also deployed newer artillery-finding radars built by Swedish company Saab, as well as domestically developed, self-propelled surface-to-air missiles.
Other weapons to be deployed on the border islands include Israeli-built Spike missiles, Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rockets being developed by South Korea and the United States, and 500-kilometer-range ship-to-surface cruise missiles, according to military officials.
An extra 2,000, if approved, would take the size of the South Korean Marine Corps to 29,000.
The new troops would be assigned to a coastal defense command for the islands near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a major flashpoint for inter-Korean conflict. The division-level command, with a combined strength of some 12,000 from all wings of the military, will be inaugurated as early as April.
Following a torpedo attack on a South Korean patrol ship that killed 46 sailors in March last year, the North fired hundreds of shells from its coastal artillery guns toward one of the five islands in November, Yeonpyeong, killing four people.
"In the aftermath of the Yeonpyeong Island attack, consensus has been built among government and military officials to augment troops, in particular Marines, on the West Sea islands to help facilitate amphibious operations against North Korean forces in the case of an emergency," a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said. "The final size and assignment of troops are to be fixed after further discussions."
The augmentation of Marines near North Korean waters implicate a major shift in Seoul's operational concepts on the border islands from a deterrence against a North Korean landing assault to an offensive one that could allow a preemptive strike on the North should it launch an attack, defense experts said.
Since the Yeonpyeong Island attack, South Korea has bolstered its forces and military arsenal off the west coast.
The South Korean military boosted the numbers of the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, the 130mm multiple rocket launchers on Yeonpyeong, located just 12 kilometers from the North Korean mainland. It also deployed newer artillery-finding radars built by Swedish company Saab, as well as domestically developed, self-propelled surface-to-air missiles.
Other weapons to be deployed on the border islands include Israeli-built Spike missiles, Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rockets being developed by South Korea and the United States, and 500-kilometer-range ship-to-surface cruise missiles, according to military officials.
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