South Korea

South Korea plans to cut the number of its troops by quarter by 2020, according to papers released from the defence ministry. The reduction in military personnel from the current 681,000 to 500,000 over the next 15 years will be compensated for by investment in new high-tech weapons systems such as advanced jet fighters, combat submarines and guided missile systems. The modernisation plan is aimed at maintaining superiority over the low-tech North Korean military, with which the South is still technically at war, while keeping pace with developments in Japan and

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