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The Defense Ministry plans to restructure the traditionally army-led Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Security Command and other joint-service bodies so that the Army would have to give the Navy and Air Force a turn at leading them. The personnel authority of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his command over operations and intelligence would be strengthened at the expense of the powers of Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs.
The Defense Ministry on Monday outlined the defense reform plans behind closed doors to the National Assembly's Defense Committee on Monday.
The post of vice chief of the Joint Chiefs can in theory be held by the Army, Navy and Air Force, but has generally been handed to the Army and Navy. Other so-called joint-service bodies like Defense Security Command, Armed Forces Medical Command, Chemical, Biological and Radiological Warfare Command and Defense of Command Control Forces have also been firmly in Army hands.
In other moves, the defense reform plan calls for a staged reduction of personnel from 681,000 to 500,000 by 2020. The First and Third Army headquarters would be merged into a single ground operation command, and the Second ROK Army would take charge of rear area operations.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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