South Korean military production unlike the U.S. has had to rely on importers to manufacture military supplies. Weapons production did not occur in South Korea until 1971 when the Ministry of National Defense constructed a plant to assemble American designed Colt M-16 rifles. In order to do this the South Koreans had to make an agreement with the United States that “prohibited the production of additional M-16s with the permission of Colt Industries and the United States government” (1). South Korea achieved the right to produce more and more of United States designed weapons in the mid-seventies. They produced American designed mines, mortars, grenades, and recoilless rifles; however they were under the same stipulations as they were when they produced the M-16 rifles. In this time period the South Koreans also started to produce ammunition for the weapons that it was producing. “In 1990 South Korean industries provided 70 percent of the weapons, ammunition, communications, and other types of equipment, vehicles, clothing, and other supplies needed by the military” (1). Also in the 1990’s the South Korean government started producing tanks, two types of armored vehicles, and two types of helicopters. The agency was in charge of managing the quality and quantity of the weapons and equipment produced was the Defense Industry Bureau of the ministry of National Defense.

    The South Korean Army consists of three different commands, a special warfare unit, the aviation command, and Army Headquarters. The South Korean army is composed of unit featuring 11 corps, 50 divisions, 20 brigades, and about 560,000 troops, 2,200 tanks, 4,850 pieces of artillery, and 2,200 armored vehicles. The ground forces are organized in to three different armies, each with a different defensive position and defense plans. The three commands are FROKA (First ROK army), SROKA (Second ROK army), and TROKA (Third ROK army). “The First Army and Third Army occupy well fortified positions stretching southward from the DMZ about fifty kilometers. They have the task of defending their area of responsibility that ranges from Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to the Seoul metropolitan area. They consist of an army command and several corps commands, divisions and brigades. These armies, in order to prepare for surprise attacks and high –speed maneuver warfare launched by the North Korea, deploy ROK-model tanks, and variety of fire arms, TOWs and surface-to-air missiles along the major route that connects the DMZ to Seoul” (3). The second ROK army is responsible for defending the rear area extending from the rear of the front area the coastline, and consists of an army command, several corps commands, divisions and brigades. The second army has operational command over all army reserve units, the Homeland Reserve Force, logistics, and training bases located in six southernmost provinces. To deter North Korean ground, surface or air invasion, SROKA has the task of coast guard during both peace and war time, and of protecting the sea lines of communications. It also manages mobilization material and reserve forces.

   Capital Defense Command is in charge of defending the blue house, major government buildings and Kimp’o International Airport. The CDC includes a select army troops whose active duty component is really more of a counter coup force, than a defensive force. The wartime strength of the CDC comes from multiple division reserves, which would be mobilized during conflict. The CDC is also responsible for peace time training for Seoul area reserves.

    Aviation Command is composed of an aviation brigade and several battalions, and possesses various helicopters armed with rockets, TOWs, Vulcan cannons, and machine guns. These attack and transport helicopters could strategically be deployed to help combat operations of infantry divisions and Special Forces. These helicopters can provide units with transportation as well as fire power.

     The Special Warfare Command consists of several large brigades, and its main tasks consist of collecting information in enemy territory, spotting for ROK military and carrying any other tasks that might need to be done. This command has seven brigades and is well trained for wartime missions behind enemy lines. These men are probably the best trained men in the South Korean Army.

     The South Korean army is responsible for the ground component of the air defense network. “It is equipped with surface-to-air missiles and several anti-aircraft battalions” (2). The surface to surface missile battalions were equipped with U.S. produced HAWK and Nike-Hercules missiles.

     “The South Korean Navy consists of the Navy Headquarters, Operations Command, and Marine Corps Command, and separate commands for aviation, amphibious operations, mine warfare, training, and logistics—all subject to the first vice chief of naval operations. It possesses 67,000 troops including the Marine Corps, 200-some vessels including submarines, and about 60 aircraft” (4). The navy is organized into three fleets under Operations Command: in the East and Yellow Seas and the Korean Straight. The South Koreans recently developed the Strategic Mobile Fleet, which would help them protect the interests of their state in the five oceans and be able to play a role in keeping the peace in the world. The Strategic Mobile Fleet will take a form of an integrated fleet that can rapidly be deployed into the area of trouble. “The Strategic Mobile Fleet is a transition from the current coastal navy into the blue water navy” (4).

    In the 1990s the South Korean’s Navy was a small force dedicated to protecting the nation’s territory. It’s now a more ocean-going navy of the 21 first century. Its built versions of a destroyer, a heavy landing ship, a mine laying ship, and a mine hunting ship. Navel vessels deployed with the Eastern, Western and Southern fleets are equipped with modern sonar equipment, depth charges, and torpedoes to counter more effectively North Korea’s growing submarine force. Two types of United States produces and one type French-produced ship born surface-to surface missiles, with a ninety kilometer range, were deployed on Gearing-class destroyers, Ulsan-class frigates, and Paegu-class fast attack craft derived from Ashville class.

     The South Korean Air force is organized into three different commands. All three combined have about 700 aircraft from eight major airbases: the Combat Air Command controlled the bulk of the roughly 500 jet combat aircraft. They also had a small Air Transportation Command that had 37 transport aircraft, and the Air Training Command which used 7 types of training aircraft. “During the 1980s, the air force modernization program focused primarily on the formation and deployment of twelve new fighter aircraft squadrons and the establishment of an automated air defense network. The F-16 provided South Korea with an aircraft believed to be technologically superior to similarly designed communist aircraft, including the Soviet-produced MiG-29, the most sophisticated aircraft employed by the North Korean air force” (5). In December of 1989, the South Korean government announced that they were going to acquire 120 of the FA-18 fighter planes to replace the F-16 fighters. The decision was mainly based on the fact that the FA-18’s would be produced in South Korea and not the U.S. The program eventually fell under review in 1990 because of increasing costs that the South Korean government could not afford. “Additionally, the United States Air Force contracted with Korean Air for the maintenance of its F-4, F-15, A-10, and C-130 aircraft stationed in South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines” (1). South Korea opted for 120 more of the F-16’s fighters which they then became KF-16’s. In June 1997, South Korea commemorated the first local built KF-16. It consisted of 349,000 different parts. The AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), a program that began in 1999, is a state of the art internal electric countermeasures system used to defeat or degrade tracking by threat of radar systems and will enhance the survivability of the F-16 aircraft. The South Koreans were the first to international customer to use this on KF-16’s. The South Korean Air Force is continually becoming stronger as they continue to modify their aircrafts.