Go to contents

Government Plans Take Over, Purchase of Reserve Munitions

Government Plans Take Over, Purchase of Reserve Munitions

Posted April. 13, 2005 23:05,   

한국어

It was reported on April 13 that the government and the Uri Party are considering a measure to gratuitously take over or partially purchase ammunition from the War Reserve Stocks for Allies (WRSA), which the U.S. has saved for an emergency on the Korean Peninsula.

The minister of National Defense, Yoon Kwang-ung, and ruling party members from National Defense Committee, including Kim Seong-gon, deputy commissioner for policy coordination, had a meeting on a plan to improve the alliance between Korea and the U.S. at the National Assembly on that day, and discussed the countermeasure following the U.S.’s notification that it will abolish the WRSA program.

A key official of the Uri Party said that Taiwan, the Philippines, and Thailand also took over much of their reserved stock of munitions or bought items at a discounted price when their WRSA programs ended in 2000, adding that considering those precedents, the government would try to take over items free of charge or selectively purchase the munitions necessary to reinforce its military power in the process of negotiations with the U.S.

Regarding the matter, the Ministry of National Defense was reported to have started classifying ammunition in order to identify how much ammunition the military needs.

A key source from the ruling party stated that the government and the ruling party were examining a plan to buy 800 billion won worth ammunition out of total WRSA ammunition stocks worth five trillion won.

The arsenals nationwide currently have 280 types of WRSA ammunition, ranging from outdated firearms, and bombs to the latest missiles, amounting to 600,000 tons, but most of what is stored is considered obsolete.



Yong-Gwan Jung yongari@donga.com