S. Korea celebrates Armed Forces Day

By Sam Kim
SEOUL Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday marked the 61st anniversary of
the founding of its military with a ceremony showcasing some of its best wartime
assets, officials said.
The ceremony, held at the Gyeryongdae military compound near Daejeon, drew
President Lee Myung-bak, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young and other top military
commanders along with an audience of about 3,200 veterans and civilians, the
officials said.
Following the ceremony and some pre-ceremony performances, dozens of fighter
jets, including KF-16s, and attack helicopters such as Cobras were featured in a
performance flight, while members of the special forces showed off top martial
arts moves and rappelling skills, the officials said.
Unlike in previous years, however, the military skipped a street parade this
year, as the government is trying to minimize public gatherings that could help
spread the H1N1 flu virus, which has killed 11 people here.
South Korea confronts North Korea's 1.2-million-strong army over a heavily armed
border and traditionally uses the anniversary as a chance to tout some of its
best defense assets.
The U.S. military, which has 28,500 troops stationed here as a deterrent against
North Korea, also joined the occasion, performing a high-altitude parachute
descent together with South Korean troops, the officials said.
South Korea observes Oct. 1 as the anniversary of the founding of its army in
commemoration of its first military advance into North Korea in 1950 during the
three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce.
The South, which runs a compulsory conscription system, operates 655,000 troops,
having obtained F-15 fighters and an Aegis combat destroyer in the last few
years.
With its conventional army outdated and outspent, North Korea has pushed forward
with the development of nuclear and missile technologies over the years.
The moves have prompted the South to seek to obtain assets that could monitor and
strike any North Korean nuclear and missile bases in the event of a conflict by
2020.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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