S. Korea’s 2017 defense budget increases 4 pct

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) — South Korea has increased its defense budget for next year by 4 percent to a record-high 40.34 trillion won (US$34 billion), the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.

The National Assembly approved a 400.5 trillion won government spending plan for next year on Saturday, with the government’s request for the defense budget unchanged, reflecting growing security threats from North Korea, the ministry said.

Military spending will account for 10 percent of the country’s overall budget. It is the first time that Seoul’s defense budget has exceeded 40 trillion won.

Of the total, 28.14 trillion won will be spent on operating military forces and facilities, marking a 3.6 percent increase from this year, while 12.2 trillion won has been set aside to bolster combat capabilities, up 4.8 percent, the ministry said.

A lion’s share in the budget increase falls on plans to deploy the “Kill Chain” strike system and the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) by mid-2020, to cope with the North’s escalating nuclear and missile threats.

The Kill Chain and the KAMD are designed to detect and destroy incoming missiles in the shortest possible time.

This undated captured image from Yonhap News TV shows a bomber, a submarine-launched ballistic missile fired by North Korea and its nuclear facility.

The 2017 budget for the anti-missile systems went up by 170 billion won to 1.75 trillion won. The increase fell far short of the defense ministry’s request in October of a 710 billion won increase.

Tensions persist on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. The communist state conducted two nuclear tests in January and September, and launched more than 20 missiles this year alone.

3 Comments

1. Obat sipilis

   August 11, 2017 at 7:34 PM

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   Reply
2. Robert

   August 29, 2017 at 6:45 PM

   I agree with this, it should be like that. There are indeed more and less.

   Reply
3. tsalasa

   December 22, 2017 at 8:51 PM

   It should be like that, I totally agree with this article. Hope it always updates so I can add my insight

   Reply