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 ROK Armed Forces Total Armed Forces: Active - 683,000 (159,000 conscripts) Reserve - 4,500,000
Defence Budget: 1999 - $11.6 billion 2000 - $12.8 billion Army: ROK Army active - 560,000 (140,000 conscripts) 24 combat divisions 2,330 tanks 117 attack helicopters supporting artillery/air defense guns and missiles < Navy: ROK Navy active - 60,000 (19,000 conscripts) 19 SSK and SSI submarines 39 principal surface combatants 84 patrol and coastal combatants 15 mine warfare ships 14 amphibious warfare ships Naval Air arm with 23 combat aircraft and 48 armed helicopters 2 Marine combat divisions (60 tanks and other supporting artillery) Air Force: ROK Air Force Active - 63,000 555 total combat aircraft including
supporting air defense guns and missiles
Paramilitary Forces active - 4,500 Assessment: Capable of defending homeland against all existing and foreseeable military threats (North Korea). Capable of protection of adjacent waters, and limited protection of sea lanes against all existing and foreseeable threats (North Korea/Japan). No capability to project force abroad. Trends: South Korea's defense budget has picked up since the substantial cutbacks during the 1997 financial crisis. Economic recovery and the gradual strengthening of the Korean won will sustain military spending. The improved political climate between the two Koreas will not lead to reductions in defense funding anytime soon. The Army is planning to procure more Type-88 tanks, new self-propelled guns and multiple-launch rocket systems, including army tactical missile systems. Naval effectiveness has been enhanced with the commissioning of the eighth of nine SSK diesel submarines and another Okapi destroyer. The Air Force will receive another 20 F-16C/D fighter aircraft by 2003. Domestic missile development is underway. This includes plans to acquire a 500km-range surface-to-surface missile (SSM) that can reach all parts of North Korea. There are no indications of efforts to develop force projection capabilities.
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