Since the Korean War in 1950, Korea has been consolidating its field combat capabilities and, in the new millennium, the country has equipped its forces with state-of-the-art weapons through the development of new weapon technologies. There are over three million reserve personnel and the defense budget stands at 28.5 billion dollars which makes it the 12th largest in the world. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) commands the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ) is under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which is responsible for defense acquisition and procurement.

The Army

The Republic of Korea Army is about 522,000 strong, and is ranked 6th in the world. It is an well-educated army because 82% of the soldiers are undergraduates or graduates. Korea has K-1 series tanks, third generation tanks, and has developed K-2 tanks, the tank of the fourth generation that is acknowledged to have the best performance in the world. Also, the K-9 which is a 155mm gun boasts world top class performance with a range of about 40km.

The Navy

The Republic of Korea Navy is about 68,000 strong. It has KD-1 light destroyers of Gwanggaeto the Great class (3,000 ton), KD-2 destroyers of Sunsin Lee class (4,000 ton), KD-3 destroyers of Sejong the Great class (7,600 ton), Aegis destroyers, various LCCs and auxiliary ships including the LPH Dokdo. It also has military aircrafts such as P-3C and Lynx, and submarines of the 209 class and 214 class.

The Air Force

The Republic of Korea Air Force is about 65,000 strong. F-15K fighters are deployed for actual battle, and their operation coverage reaches 1,800km. The Republic of Korea Air Force has KF-16 Block53, F-16C/D Block52, F-4E, F-5E/F, etc. Moreover, it has independently developed the T-50(Advanced Jet Trainer) that can be converted to a TA-50 or FA-50(Light Fighter).