The country plans to streamline its military to make it more efficient in its defense against communist North Korea's 1.2 million-strong force across the world's most heavily armed border. The military will cut the number of its troops by a quarter to 500,000 by 2020 and instead deploy more advanced weapons.

The reform plan is aimed at making South Korea's defense capabilities less dependent on U.S. forces, which will reduce their presence the coming years. About 32,500 U.S. troops are now deployed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, but that number will eventually drop to 24,500.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 8, 2005
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